The BackUp Plan
by Full-of-Ink
Summary: Based loosely on the movie, The Back-Up Plan. Prompted by RiverKirby.  What happens when Rachel and Quinn reunite, after Rachel has already planned to add a child to her life; a child fathered by Artie...   Better Summary inside...
1. Prologue

Prompt: Rachel and Quinn date in highschool but do to diff schools and long distance putting a strain on their relationship they get into a fight and break up. Rachel Has Artie/Kurt and.. someone else with her in NY Artie and Rachel go on with their jobs and become roommates. Rachel hit her marks in life and realizes she is missing something and that is to have a family! She asks Artie to be the baby daddy.. he is you know Shocked! but finally caves in lol a while later they are asked to come back for a wedding ... maybe Mercedes and Sam? and things happen dunno what up to you :P Quinn isnt dating anyone and her date really is a friend interested in Artie maybe? Quinn is moving to New York for what ever you decide for her to do :P Rachel and Quinn start to slowly realize they are still madly inlove with each other! Then Rachel realizes she is pregnant and tells Quinn :P Quinn is shocked. In a way this is like Jennifer Lopez's Back up plan lol

So, this is my take on ^ and I changed a good bit of it, but if I didn't you wouldn't be as surprised...right?

So if you like thank RiverKirby it was her idea and if you don't blame me cuz I'm the one spinning it.

This isn't going to go linearly at the beginning so bare with that, but all shall be revealed, promise...

Enjoy!

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><p><em>Prologue<em> 

Quinn Fabray took the concrete stairs in front of William McKinley High School two at a time. It was the first day of her freshman year and she was running horribly late; her sister, Fran had left without her insuring an eight block sprint to school. She grabbed heedlessly at the ornate iron handle on the door and pushed it in surprising a smaller figure just behind the door. There was a small _oof _ and the figure sprawled in front of the door to a chorus of teenage laughter.

"Watch where you're going." She grunted impatiently taking her frustration out on the smaller girl. _Was she even old enough to be in high school? Probably some socially awkward genius skipped up a few grades..._

Quinn grimaced at the girls outfit. Had to be the whole child prodigy thing, this girl was hopelessly clueless about fitting in. Argyle? Animal Print? Who dressed her a blind, mentally-ill catlady?

"Pardon me?" The girl squeaked sitting up. "...doesn't matter I refuse to allow your carelessness and callousness to intrude upon my good mood."

"It's just the first day of school, no big deal."

"Sure it is," The girl picked herself up dusted off her knee high socks and began to pick up her dropped items, "I mean it's the first day of High School...so like it's essentially the start of our teenage careers..."

"Careers...?" Quinn repeated kneeling to aid the miniature brunette with gathering her papers and books. She had so much stuff for it to only be the first day.

"Yes." The girl smiled brilliantly popping up from her squatting position to stand at her full height, which Quinn guessed couldn't have been more than 5'2".

"I guess I'll see you around." The girl grinned down at her and basically skipped down the hall, a small pink rolling bag with a sequined gold star clicking behind her.

Quinn was about to rise when she spotted something small and startlingly green on the floor. "Hey, wait! You forgot your..." She called picking up the plastic thimble-sized figurine, "...leprechaun...?"

"Hey Q, better get moving or Coach Sylvester is going to make me captain of the Mini-Os" Quinn's best friend and rival, Santana Lopez's voice broke her from her thoughts as the Latina walked pass pushing the back of her blonde head.

"Bite me, Slutana." Quinn stood quickly pocketing the figurine and jogged to catch up with Santana and her other best friend, Brittany Pierce.

"Hey Q!" Brittany smiled brightly looping the hand that wasn't pinky linked with Santana through Quinns arm.

"Hello Britt, how was your trip?" Quinn inquired about the girl's trip to Amsterdam to visit relative.

"Oh it was awesome. Did you know that there's a whole part of the city where people have sexy time in windows?"

"Who knew you were a voyeur." Quinn giggled testing out one of the words she'd overheard a friend of her father's use while they were smoking cigars in his study and she was suppose to be in her room reading.

"You mean like that kid, in our Summer reading book? The one with Finn's brother or cousin or whatever?"

"Finn's cousin?" Quinn scratched the back of her neck as they turned the corner leading to the auditorium.

"Tom Sawyer?" Santana mumbled. "That's not Finn's cousin, Britt and that's not what Q said either."

"Oh..." The tallest blonde shrugged as the three entered the gym.

"Well look who decided to join us this morning, thank the ladies for the ten extra laps you'll be running." Sue Sylvester's voice greeted them followed by groans and grumbling from the girls standing at attention.

"Yay, great day." Quinn mumbled tucking her chin in preparation for the degrading screams to come.

When Quinn walked out of her third period class, algebra, her arm was pulled gruffly and she was shoulder to shoulder with Santana.

"What the hell, Lopez!" She huffed pulling away from the tan girl.

"Look, look...Karofsky's gonna shower the freak." She nodded down the hall and Quinn found herself watching a burly boy menacingly approach the girl she'd bumped into that morning. In his hands he was clutching two icy purple drinks. Two other tough looking boys were holding onto the girl's arms as she kicked out her legs. Everyone in the hall seemed to be riveted on the scene unfolding in front of them, but none were moving to help her.

"What's-What's he going to do?" Her voice came out as a squeak.

"Slushy Facial...shit might be a slushy bath, my brother told me about them, reserved for the biggest losers."

Quinn took an unconscious step forward.

"What are you doing, Q?" Santana's hand shot out and gripped Quinn's upper arm.

"Someone's got to stop him. I mean look at them and look at her...she's so tiny, San. I'm going to stop him." She pulled her arm away and strode down the hall, Santana following closely behind her grumbling about social suicide.

"Hey! Let her go!" Quinn shouted sounding braver than she felt.

"What the fuck?" The boy grunted glaring at the pair as they stepped between him and his intended victim.

"I said leave her alone you...you...overgrown manchild!"

"Move it squirt. I'm going to give the gaybaby a facial and I don't care if you and Consuela get a piece of the action too."

"Consuela? I've got your motherfuckin' Counsuela, puta!" Santana growled slamming a palm into one of the slushies sending the cold liquid hurling back on their attacker.

While the ogre flinched stunned by the turn of events Quinn took the opportunity to turn on her heel and punch one of the other boys in the stomach. She grabbed the smaller girl's hand and yanked her away from the leftover boy and the three girls took off down the hall. Quinn, Santana, and the girl ducked inside and empty classroom and they collapsed against the door giggling.

"Did you see that asshole's face?" The Latina crowed triumphantly.

"Language."

"Seriously, short stack? You would have been like a frozen Barney if it hadn't been for us, so chill out cuz Santana freakin' Lopez don't tone it down for no ones, I tells it like it is."

"Are you kidding me? Your grammar is atrocious. And while I thank you both wholeheartedly and am truly grateful that you saved me from those miscreants you do understand that they'll just do it again tomorrow. And the day after that and the day after that ad nausem. See, I'm a social pariah to these small-minded buffoons and being around me will most assuredly bring you down."

"Shit, Q she makes me want to slushy her too."

"We'll be alright. We're Mini-Os, Coach is grooming us to rule this place by the time we're juniors." Quinn ignored her counterpart, smiling at the nervous girl.

"San, Q?" Brittany wandered into the other classroom door, "Are we playing hide and seek? Was I it? Did I win?"

"Friend of yours?" The small brunette giggled.

"Brittany S. Pierce." The taller blond opened her arms to hug the stranger.

The girl glanced at Quinn for confirmation and she nodded slightly. "She's a hugger." She whispered.

"Ok..." She stepped into the girls arms and was swallowed up into a tight embrace. "...Rachel, Rachel Barbra Berry..."

"Quinn, Santana." Quinn indicated herself and then the Latina as Brittany released Rachel and the tiny brunette turned to face her.

"Sup, Small Fry." Santana lifted her chin in acknowledgement.

"Oh My God, I'm going to be late for Biology!" Rachel exclaimed wide-eyes looking at the clock above the door.

"Shit, who cares let's just skip and try again after lunch."

"Language. I refuse to let a traumatic hallway event mar the beginnings of a perfect attendance record."

"Jesus Berry, then go." Santana rolled her dark brown eyes.

"O-k...I um...I guess I'll see you...um...around?" Rachel stammered heading towards the door.

"Sure," Quinn smiled softly and then remembered the figurine in her pocket and stepped closer to the girl, "Hey Rach-el, Rachel, you...um you forgot your leprechaun." She fished the little green man out.

"Oh, no...it's alright, today has been an increasingly lucky day already, I suppose it's similar to paying it forward. Leave it somewhere and let it bring someone else luck who needs it more than I." She gave the three girls a small wave and slipped out of the classroom.

"Ooooo Q's got a pet gnome." Santana mocked as Quinn slid the figurine back into the pocket.

"Shut-up, Santana." She crossed her arms petulantly.

"Can we keep her, San? She's so cute and fun-sized." Brittany gave the Latina puppy dog eyes looping their pinkies together.

"I don't care she's Q's hobbit."

Quinn groaned and flicked the other girl off, though she had to admit she wanted to keep the tiny brunette too.


	2. Chance and Happenstance

So, forgot to say that this story is obviously AU, No Beth and about the only thing that stays the same is Brittana and Klaine...

I don't own a thing...not the Back-Up Plan def. not Glee...

Enjoy!

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><p>15 Years Later<p>

Rachel worried her lip between her teeth and tried valiantly to relax. It was tough going with her legs up in stirrups and her ass freezing on the metal table. To her right the nurse, a cute redhead smiled at her and she felt her nerves ease. On her other side Artie was slightly red-faced and embarrassed, but she didn't feel sorry for him; he was the one who insisted on being present for the insemination after all.

"Alrighty, Ms. Berry, Mr. Abrams, we won't know conclusively for a few days if it was a success, but I have a good feeling." Doctor Farley smiled placing a comforting palm on her knee.

Rachel smiled brightly, worked her legs from the stirrups and then crossed them demurely. "I could be pregnant, right now..."

"Well, something like that..." The silver-haired doctor nodded.

"Thank you so much, Artie." She leaned to side and hugged the wheelchair bound man.

When she'd come to her roommate a few months back and pleaded with him to be her sperm donor he'd thought she'd lost her mind. He'd also emphatically refused. She'd worked out an entire powerpoint presentation and he'd just ignored it. He'd admonished her, saying that she was just having some sort of early mid-life crisis, that a baby would complicate her life and if he was the donor their friendship. But, she'd been resolute in her desires. She wasn't getting younger and she had come to the conclusion that there was no perfect woman for her (Yes she was gay, she'd come out sophomore year at McKinley, keep up...), she'd been single for so long that she'd had to come to terms with the idea that if she wanted a family it might not be how she'd envisioned it. And as her her daddy kept reminding her, she wasn't getting any younger.

She'd thought long and hard about adoption, but she'd been put off by the hoops a single woman had to jump through in order to get approved. She'd even thought about using an unknown donor, but something about allowing strange semen inside her body made her feel weird. She gone through all the possibilities, the pros and cons of asking all of her male friends.

Noah, was a no go. He and Lauren had married straight after high school and now had three kids of their own, a girl and two boys. Not only would Lauren have crucified her if she'd asked, but she knew Noah would never agree let her raise the child alone, if he agreed at all he'd want to play dad, and she didn't want a daddy, she was perfectly capable of doing this alone.

Kurt had been one of her top choices, but he and Blaine were talking about starting their own family. Honestly, she wanted nothing to do with some commune styled adventure in child rearing.

It was then that Artie had seemed like the most obvious choice. They were both currently single. He'd had as much luck finding a woman and she had; none.

After graduation they'd both moved to New York, she to attend Julliard and he'd studied architectural design at Carnegie Mellon. They'd become roommates their sophomore year. Surprisingly, after leaving Lima the pair had found that they actually had alot in common. Besides, after her horrendous break-up she'd found hanging out with the few former gleemates that were in New York cathartic.

Artie had been a good friend ever since and he had the talent and drive that she wanted in a donor. He also knew that at best he would be _uncle _Artie and he was fine with that. Sure it'd taken months of convincing, but he'd agreed and she was grateful that he had.

"Hey, what type of roommate would I have been to not be here when my sperm was used to possibly knock you up?" He grinned and Rachel pushed his shoulder playfully.

"Oh get out, I need to get dressed and you need to get to your meeting." She grinned. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, because Dr. Farley said that it might take a few visits, but it just felt right and true. _She just knew she was pregnant..._

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><p>Mercedes Jones-Kirkland was a shrewd businesswoman. No one had known that about her in high school. She had a good eye for what was marketable and what was the best way to showcase talent. It was one of the reasons that the small indie label that she'd started with Rachel and Kurt had been so successful up to this point. Divas, LLC , did it all and though they'd struggled in the beginning to garner the attention all three felt they deserved they had had nothing, but positive feedback and she felt there was no where left to go, but up.<p>

Currently she was pacing the lobby on their offices having a very heated discussion with one of their prospective artists, a bitchy smart ass, Rinoa had a voice that was raw and full of emotion, but oh god her mouth. Mercedes had about enough of going back and forth with the hothead. She was ready to cancel her contract, but Rachel had already intervened time and time again. As soon as the brunette arrived they were going to have t speak about this artist because no way was she going to drive herself crazy over some chick who wasn't grateful for a shot.

She slammed the phone down just as Rachel walked through the door. The tiny diva was beaming and Mercedes instantly forgot about the temperamental artist. She ran over to hug the other woman screeching.

"You did it?"

"Yes, we won't know for a few days, but I think it's really happening..."

"Of course, you're gonna be a great Mom, Rach." Mercedes grinned letting go and looping her arm with the smaller woman.

"Come on this deserves a celebratory lunch and they just opened this quaint little cafe around the corner, _Charmed_, I'm dying to try it."

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><p>Quinn Fabray's life had become increasingly mundane, not to say that owning her own cafe wasn't fun and exciting in its own way, but the daily routine was just that, a routine. She woke up early went for a run in Central Park, she might meet up with Santana andor Brittany for breakfast or brunch and then she came into work. She spent most of her day experimenting with new possible menu options; tasting and re-tasting. Trying to find the perfect mixture of whatever. She'd always been a slight perfectionist, but she felt it showed in the reviews she got and the contented smiles of the people they served daily.

She heard the jingle of the above-door bell and smiled as she heard Katie, Brittany's little sister greet the arrivals. She'd followed her older sister to New York three years ago and since Quinn had opened she'd been her first and most loyal employee.

"You look so familiar, Oh My God you look like someone I went to High School with...?" She heard a familiarly booming voice. _Couldn't be...could it?_ She stopped the mixing she was doing and wiped her hands on her flour-stained apron. She walked through the swinging kitchen door and a smile lit her face when she saw Mercedes standing at the counter peering closely at Katie.

"She should look familiar, that's little B." Quinn called with a smirk.

"Oh My God, if it isn't Quinn Fabray, what on earth are you doing here?" She boomed.

"I own this cafe." Quinn smiled proud of herself.

"Really? Well, it's lovely, I hope the food doesn't disappoint."

"Is that challenge? My food, disappoint? Prepare to have your taste-buds amazed..." Her grin widened and then dropped as she noticed the movement behind Mercedes. She should have realized that _she _would be with Mercedes. Like them the two had been almost inseparable, so she should have known, should have prepared herself somewhat for seeing _her _after seven years.

She took in the shining chestnut hair and the bright chocolate eyes that were rapidly blinking at her. She looked beautiful, well she always had, but more of a matured beauty. Brittany had told her that Rachel was still in the city, of course she was, New York had always been her destiny...her dream. She'd also told her that she was part of a very successful music label and she couldn't have been more proud. _Her _Rachel was made for great things, she'd always known.

"Rachel..." She whispered memories of _them_ together streaming through her head.

"Quinn...?" She watched the woman's face fall and unshed tears for quickly in her eyes "...I'll, um...I'll meet you back at the office..." She said to Mercedes and then basically ran from the cafe.

"Rachel, wait...!" Mercedes called after the brunette. "Um...sorry Quinn, let's catch-up sometime soon." Mercedes gave her a slight wave, dropped a business card on the counter and then ran out following the other woman.

"It's okay...I deserve it..." Quinn mumbled to herself wiping at the tears forming in her eyes.

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><p>I know there's a huge time jump between this and last chapter, but when I wrote it it makes sense for where I want to go and how I wanna work the prompt...<p>

We're going back to the...well, the past next chapter : )

Ink


	3. Chickenshit

Moving Along...

I own nothing, not even the idea...maybe the execution, yep...that's me

Enjoy! 

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><p><em>14 Years Ago<em>

_Quinn knocked on the Berry's door and then quickly wiped her palms on her cheer-leading skirt. She was nervous, but spurred on by Santana's taunting and her Mother's kind words of acceptance, here she was. She was about to do the most risky thing she'd done in her 15 1/2 years of life; she's was about to admit to Rachel Barbra Berry that she had feelings for her, that she'd had feelings for her for over a year now and those feelings were far beyond the realm of friendship. If Rachel didn't feel the same then of course she would be hurt, devastated even, but she'd be happy if her little diva was happy. She unconsciously rubbed the leprechaun in her pocket and knocked again. _

_She sucked in a deep breath and smile weakly as the door pulled open and she came face to face with the object of her affections. She felt like fainting. Snap out of it. You are Quinn Fabray, first sophomore captain of the Cheerios. Guys and girls would kill to be with you. There's no way she can resist you. _

_"Quinn? Are you alright?" Rachel touched her arm and she smiled and nodded mutely. _

_"Well, come in, I just finished my latest video."_

_"What did you sing?" She asked finding her voice._

_"Well, I took a page from Santana's numerous...uh...urgings that I do something more popular and sung; Hush, Hush by the Pussycat Dolls. I know that it doesn't do exact justice to my voice, but I figured that doing something the kids might know might possibly be beneficial, I suppose to show my versatility." _

_"I'm sure whatever you sing will sound beautiful..." Quinn said dreamily and then snapped herself out off it. _

_"How was practice?" Rachel asked going into the kitchen and Quinn followed hoping onto the stool that she always sat at. _

_"Um...you know, Coach was her usually bit-beastly self." She replied and Rachel giggled opening the cupboard and pulling out bread, peanut butter, and bananas. _

_"Oh, you don't have to do that..." Quinn moved to rise from her seat._

_"Don"t you dare try to stop me, Quinn, after those workouts your always so ravenous. Besides, it's no trouble at all, you're my very best friend, Quinn." _

_Quinn deflated slightly, but was determined to push on. "You're my best friend too, Rach...and I uh..I came over here to talk to you..."_

_"Are you ok?" Rachel asked again setting a platter of sliced grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches. _

_"I promise I'm fine..."_

_"Then what's wrong? Do you not want to be friends anymore? I told you that being associated with me would bring you down...it's okay I understa-" Quinn cut her off by placing a hand over the other girl's mouth. _

_"Stop interrupting me this is hard enough as it is, Rach. So...okay...I um...I like you Rachel, I mean I really really like you. I've had a crush on you probably since the first day of school last year. I care about you probably more than just about anyone in the world and I was hoping that maybe you like me too and maybe you might go out with me?" She breath out heavily at the end and waited for Rachel to stay anything._

_She sprang back remembering that her hand was still covering Rachel's mouth. _

_"I'm so sorry Rachel..." She whispered as her best friend sputtered._

_"Quinn Fabray..." Rachel frowned and then smiled leaning across the bar to peck her quickly on the lips. "...sometimes you are so adorably clueless."_

_From that moment they were even more inseparable. The Cheerios won three more titles with Quinn at the helm and Rachel was in the risers with a sign that read: Team FaBerry, every single time. They both joined the Glee Club and their junior and senior years had them winning Nationals back to back. _

_She'd wanted to be with Rachel forever. She thought that they would be, but during their second semester the chips started stacking against them; Rachel got into Julliard just like she always dreamed, a full scholarship, but Quinn had only managed a partial scholarship to NYU. Her mother couldn't afford it on her own and her philandering father? Well since the divorce he'd shown himself to be absolutely no help at all. She hadn't gotten what she needed to go to New York with Rachel, but she did get a long-shot full ride to The Culinary Academy at Kendall College in Chicago. Rachel hadn't even known she'd mailed the application, that she'd had numerous interviews. She'd never thought she'd actually get in, but when she did she wanted nothing more than to go. She just didn't know how to make Rachel understand that. So, she'd done what she thought best, she ran. _

_She'd promised Rachel that she'd meet her at Lauren's bridal shower and then she just never showed. She never called. She tried to write, but scrapped every note. She knew that what she did was the right thing to do. Long distance relationships didn't work and High School love never lasted. Look at her parents, they'd been high school sweethearts and Russell had cheated on her repeatedly. He'd ran his household like a tyrant and they'd divorced before she turned sixteen. She didn't want that with Rachel, she didn't want to watch their love wither away. She'd rather be able to say that they went out on top._

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><p>"So, the apocalypse has finally arrived?" Santana mused propping herself up on a bar stool in Quinn's barely unpacked apartment.<p>

"Is that what we're calling it nowadays?" Quinn took a sip of her wine.

"Oh yeah, definitely. I mean what would you call it? You guys went all this damn time not bumping into each other. Never when you went home to see Judes, not when you visited the Puckermans, not when you stopped by the hospital after Hiram had knee surgery, not when you stayed over night during Junior year when you were suppose to be on your way to Italy..that was totes stalkerish by the way. All that and you guys were basically ships passing in the night. And your in the City for not even three weeks and she just so happens to stroll into your shop? Screams apocalypse." The Latina popped a piece of cheese in her mouth.

"I saw her Junior year..."

"During your stalking, do elaborate..."

"She was gorgeous. I mean she's always gorgeous, but she was starring as, Elphaba in a small production of Wicked and even in green paint she was beautiful and she played that role fantastically. I saw her, but she never saw me and the next day I got on my plane and went to Italy."

"So, she's like the smurf of your dreams, right? Like you think she's smurferrific? So, why didn't you go up to her, sweep her off her feet?"

"Cuz, I mean what if she wasn't still _my _Rachel?"

"Chickenshit." Santana mumbled popping another cube of cheese in her mouth. "You were scared after graduation and you were scared seven years ago..shit you might be scared right now, who knew you had such a prevalent yellow streak, Q."

"Fuck. you. Santana." Quinn growled glaring at her hands in her lap and willing herself not to hit her friend.

"Shoot the messenger." Santana raised her hands in mock surrender. "Doesn't matter anyways she's probably got all sorts of girls..and guys trying to hook-up and from her immediate reaction to the mere sight of you I'm going to say you don't have a prayer."

"What are we praying about?" Brittany asked upon returning from the bathroom. She pulled up a stool between the two women. She leaned over to kiss Santana lightly on the cheek and then popped a piece of cheese in her mouth.

"Rachel." Santana answered her mouth full of cheese and wine.

"Chew then talk, babes..." The choreographer admonished and then turned to the other blonde "...so, you finally took my advice and called her?"

"Not exactly..."

"She means not at all..."

"Mind shutting up, Lopez?"

"Babes, let Quinnie speak."

"Mercedes and Rachel walked into Charmed today." Quinn mumbled.

"Oh? Well, that's how destiny works." Brittany smiled taking a sip of her own wine.

"It's not destiny, she doesn't want to see me and it's been too long for me to justify trying to make amends."

"I don't know about making men, but I think like me and San, you and Rach are just inedible." Brittany smiled brightly and neither woman had the heart to correct her this time, because truth be told they both want inevitability.

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><p>So? Thanks for all the alerts and whatnot..that's great...hope I'm still doing this idea justice...more to come...<p>

Ink


	4. Hindsight is never 20 20

And we're chuggin' along...thanx for the people that are enjoying this as always I'm grateful that it's interesting to you.

Enjoy! 

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><p>"...so, then you ran?" Artie asked over the noise from Rachel's ihome.<p>

"It was kind of an automatic reaction. I don't even think I thought about a course of action..." Rachel sighed swinging her legs which hung over the arm of the couch she was laying on.

"Well, why didn't you stay? You can't tell me that you don't still carry a torch for Quinn..."

"I don't ." The brunette mumbled into the arm she'd thrown over her face in frustration.

"Liar, liar. Remember that I'm your roommate, Rachel, I know shit about you I wish I did.'t...the deep dark things.." The wheelchair-bound man smirked rolling into the kitchen.

"Like...?"

"Like...hmm...like you can concoct an extravagant meal, but you have a habit of burning simple things like rice." He laughed reaching into the fridge for the milk carton.

"Shh...that's my darkest secret."

"All kidding aside, what's the plan for Quinn?" He measured out a cup for the macaroni and cheese he was making and poured it into the casserole dish.

"There is no plan. I, Rachel Barbra Berry am planless."

"Oh, these are indeed dire straits when Rachel Barbra Berry has become planless." He snarked chuckling and placing the Macaroni and Cheese in the oven.

"I'm glad you're so amused."

"I mean, maybe it's not the end of the world that you two are back in touch."

"We're not back into touch. Being in touch implies that we are talking to each other and what do I have to say to Quinn Fabray. She walked away…_ran_ away and stayed away for a decade, a full decade, Artie!" She sat up and stamp her foot on the hardwood floor.

"Maybe this would be a good time to get some closure. Obviously it still hurts you, maybe if you talked about it you could move on and if you can move on then wouldn't things just be better?"

"Don't care." She crossed her arms huffing.

"Fine, be stubborn, but you know how things like this are, it's just going to keep popping up until you decide to do something about it. Remember that girl, Ma—Marisa? Remember how I kept running into her until I finally sat her down and cleanly broke up with her?"

"She was stalking you, clearly."

"You think I'm stalker worthy?"

"That would feed your ego, typical." She sighed rising from the couch and heading for her bedroom, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Don't be like that, Rach."

"I'm just tired, ok?" Her shoulders sagged as she slipped into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Inside her room the small brunette took off her heels and lay on the bed. She couldn't believe she'd seen Quinn. _Her_ Quinn. Quinn; that had mysteriously disappeared from her life after three years of dating. After all the plans they'd made. After promising that she was it for her. No, she wasn't _her_ Quinn, she hadn't been _her_ Quinn. A frown pinched her face a she turned towards the wall and closed her eyes trying not to think of a certain blonde.

_Rachel tried again to call Quinn. She didn't want to be smothering, but after Quinn's no call, no show last night at the bridal shower she was worried. She was beyond worried; she was terrified that something had happened to her girlfriend. It wasn't like Quinn not to call or at least text her. It had taken Brittany and Santana to keep her occupied at the shower so that she didn't storm over to the Fabray residence and give the blonde a piece of her mind, but they weren't here to stop her this morning. _

_She walked up to the front door anxiety eating at her. What if something had happened to Quinn. What if she were hurt? No, Judy would have called her. Why hadn't either one of them called her?_

_Before she had the chance to knock the door was opened up and Judy stood in front of her wrapped in a yellow robe. She looked at Rachel with the saddest hazel eyes and she almost couldn't control a sob from escaping her lips. _

"_Rachel, honey, come inside so we can talk…"_

"_What happened Mrs. Fabray…where's Quinn." Rachel stopped walking._

_Judy sighed. "She left, Rachel…she told me she was going to tell you, but she's gone…all she left was this note…"_

_The older blonde held up a white slip of paper. "For me?" _

"_No…for me…but she wanted me to tell you she loved you…" Judy sniffled "…Rachel come inside, dear…"_

"_She left me? Without a note or a goodbye or an explanation? She just left?" Rachel paced the walkway numbed by the words that her girlfriend's mother was saying. _

"_Rachel…." The older woman reached out a palm and the tiny brunette backed away as if she'd been burned._

"_Why…?" She questioned tears streaming down her face, but she didn't wait to see if the woman had any answers; instead she turned and ran the entire way back to her house, collapsing into the waiting arms of her Dad. _

Rachel awoke with a start, jarred from her sleep by the memory. Damn Quinn for reawakening all those old memories in her. She hadn't wanted to deal with it all those years ago and she didn't really want to deal with it now. She was sure that Artie was correct in her needing closure, but she didn't know how she could close the door on someone she wasn't sure her heart was fully prepared to give up on.

* * *

><p>Good, Bad, Indifferent?<p>

Ink


	5. What's for Lunch?

Faberry interaction...oh yeah...

I wrote this, I don't own the gleecast or the basic idea, I do own the craziness, yep...that's mine.

Enjoy! 

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><p>Quinn paced the sidewalk outside of Divas, LLC with Brittany leaning against a car watching her closely. They had been out there for about half and hour and if Quinn's mind had been in the right place she might have realized the slight burning in her legs. She was supposed to be taking Brittany's advice and going to talk to Rachel. She'd agonized over calling first, but she figured that if she had Rachel would have avoided her. She knew that by showing up unannounced she was being very presumptuous, but how else was she supposed to talk to Rachel?<p>

"Are we going inside, Q? It's hot and I think the sidewalk hurts from you stomping around on it."

"I dunno B, maybe I should just leave well enough alone." Quinn halted her movements and shifted nervously from one foot to the other.

"What does that even mean?" The taller blonde huffed looping her arm with the former HBIC and dragging her towards the mirrored glass doors.

"Thank God," They were greeted by Mercedes as they entered exquisitely decorated lobby, "I was wondering how long you were going to wear a track in our sidewalk."

Quinn arched an eyebrow and then looked back at the doors only to find herself looking through the doors and outside where she had previously been pacing. She slapped a hand over her face to hide the red creeping up her face. "Two-way glass, I must have looked like an idiot."

"Pretty much." Mercedes replied chuckling. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…uh…" Quinn stammered unlike herself.

"Let me guess it has to do with a pint-sized diva with a big voice? Well, let me tell you something little miss disappearing act, if that's your plan again, then you need to just strut back to your café, because I'll be damned if I'm gonna allow that to happen." The African-American woman rolled her head as she spoke.

"I don't have a plan, Cedes, I just…I need to see Rachel…I guess I didn't realize how much I missed her until I saw her again…" Quinn replied semi-surprised by the abrupt change in attitude.

"Unacceptable. She don't need another trip down love 'em and leave 'em lane with you Quinn Fabray." She crossed her arms and glared.

"Hey, give her a break, she made a mistake…she was stupid and young, right Q? Brittany stepped slightly in front of Quinn and Quinn nodded her head numbly.

"How can you ever take her side, Brittany, you were around you saw how badly Rachel took their break-up…"

"I'm not taking sides, I'm new trail…"

"New trail?"

"Yeah, like a beige skirt. I saw how bad it was for Rae, but I also so how rough it was for Q…"

"You may be neutral, but I'm not and if you dare hurt her I'mma kick your skinny little lily white ass, Quinn." Mercedes harrumphed and stormed off with an air of finality.

"Well, that went well…" Brittany smiled back at Quinn brightly.

"Really?"

"Well, yeah, she didn't hit you." Brittany smiled and then turned to the receptionist who'd been watching their interaction with rapt attention. "Is Rachel Berry available?"

"She's in a meeting with a client, she's free directly after, would you like me to buzz in and let her know that she's got visitors?" The petite Asian girl asked after clicking a few times on her mouse.

"No, we'll just wait, if that's ok, we sorta wanna surprise her." Brittany smiled again and drug Quinn over to the red cushioned chairs lined against the wall opposite the receptionist booth.

"I think we should go back to the café…I'll make us some sandwiches and we'll forget about this…" Quinn said her leg jiggling with nerves.

"No. Aren't you tired of running from this?" Brittany replied resolutely.

"I really don't like when your right, have I told you that lately?"

"Yes. It's okay, Sanny hates when I'm right too, cuz it means she's wrong, but you should do like her and listen because I'm right a lot."

"Being with Santana has done horrible things for your ego, I swear…" Quinn shook her head and could help the grimace when Brittany started humming Beyonce's Ego.

"Rach, give me a break, I was just messing with her, Mercedes just takes things too seriously. She needs to have more fun in her life." They both looked up to see a toffee-colored woman step from the elevator, her boot clad feet clicking against the tile floor. She had short messy hair and piercings lined around the lobe of her ear.

"Someone has to be serious here, Rin, you're definitely not."

"You wouldn't like me if I was a stick in the mud." The woman smiled showing off a set of perfect teeth.

"Perhaps." Rachel finally came into view smiling brightly at the woman.

"Oh, perhaps nothing, you just haven't awakened to the fact that your madly in love with me, so is Mercedes for all that, shit I think I turned Kurtsie straight as well."

"That would be a feat wouldn't it? I do believe his boyfriend would beg to differ on the power of your sexual prowess." Rachel giggled nudging the woman in the side and Brittany glance sidelong at Quinn trying to gage the unreadable look on her friend's face.

"Mmmm…speaking of sexual prowess, are you going to let me take you out tonight?" They watched the woman's green eyes rove appreciatively over Rachel's body and Brittany would have sworn she heard Quinn growl. "And don't give me the lecture on people's presumptions that I only got signed because I'm sleeping with the boss. Once I blow on these pipes all that hoopla is gonna die and you know it."

"That's exactly why I'm not going out with you, you're an insatiable flirt you don't even really care if I say no anymore you get a kick out of the variety of ways you can ask. Besides, I respect your talent entirely too much to allow your career to be begun with such nasty rumors." They walked pass the pair of blondes a few feet away, but nevertheless unaware that their exchange was being so closely watched.

"Why Rachel Berry, you wound me. Don't you see how absolutely adoring I am of you?" The woman grabbed Rachel's hand and played with her fingers.

"You adore me because I keep Mercedes at bay."

"You do have an uncanny knack for taming that beast." The woman smirked.

"That _beast_ believes in your talent, Rinoa." Rachel chastised.

"What's not to believe in?" Green eyes sparkled. "Alright, alright…I'll be on my bestest behavior, maybe if I'm good for Mercedes, I'll get to be bad with you."

"Incorrigible." Rachel shook her head at the musician's antics, but allowed the taller woman to drop and kiss on her cheek before waving her out of the building.

Rachel turned back towards the interior, still not aware of the blondes watching her from the alcove. She stopped at the receptionist desk and gathered some letters from her box. She spoke to the girl behind the desk quietly and they watched as a thin finger pointed in their direction. Rachel turned to face them with a look that was first a mixture of shock and sadness then her features went completely blank. She straightened her shoulders and strolled towards them.

"Brittany, Quinn." She greeted them coolly.

"Hey Rachie!" Brittany ignored the smaller woman's cool demeanor and jumped up hugging the petite woman tightly.

"Janis said you came to see me?" She replied slipping from the taller woman's arms and standing a little away from the pair.

"Of course we did, didn't we Q?" Two pairs of eyes riveted to the silent blonde who hadn't taken her eyes off her ex.

"Yuh-yeah."

"Well, you've seen me, I-uh..I have work I've gotta get to." Rachel replied nervously tearing her eyes from Quinn's hazel one.

"Don't be silly, Rae, of course we wanted to do more than see you, it's just a figure of speech," Brittany sighed, "and Janis said you're free now so we can all go to lunch."

"I'm not especially hungry." Rachel's face turned bright red as her stomach growled.

"Well, if you're not your stomach sure is." Brittany quipped. "You should just give up Rae, I'm not backing down."

Rachel looked at Brittany's crossed arms then fleetingly at Quinn and then back to Brittany. She couldn't say no to Brittany, no matter how much at the moment she really wanted to; that was probably why Quinn had brought her. Brittany was even the biggest Grinch's kryptonite so there was no way that Rachel could stand up against her puppy dog eyes and pouting lip.

"Ugh, fine," Rachel crossed her arms stubbornly and walked back to the receptionist desk, "Janis if anyone calls tell them I went to lunch."

"Will do, bosslady." Janis saluted playfully and Rachel turned to the pair waiting for them to rise and join her.

"I don't think Rachel speaks Mime like I do, "Brittany whispered as Quinn rose, "so you better get to talking."

They followed the brunette out to the street and Brittany maneuvered it so Rachel ended up sandwiched between the two blondes. She stuffed her hands inside the pockets of her slacks and watched as her two friends stole furtive glances at each other. They walked the block in silence, Brittany humming to herself hoping that one or the other would speak up. When they got to the first crosswalk she realized that neither was going to and that she was going to have to push them into conversing.

"So…where are we going?"

"Um..._Fig_. They have a really excellent buffet style lunch with great vegetarian and vegan options, have you been?" Quinn answered looking intensely at the side of Rachel's head.

"No. Thank you for considering my dietary constraints, Quinn." Rachel replied in a businesslike manner which made both blondes frown.

"Yeah…" Quinn hung her head and Brittany could imagine her running through ways to restart the conversation.

"I've gotta go to the restroom…" Brittany squirmed around pretending that she had to pee really badly "…I'm just going to jog ahead and get us a good table and uh…uh…go to the little girls room." She jogged off before either woman could complain.

"Shit…" Quinn mumbled to herself as they watched the dancer disappear around the corner of the next block leaving her in strained silence with her ex-girlfriend.

"What are you going to do now that your shield has run off?" Rachel spoke harshly as they waited for the crosswalk to blink 'walk'.

"Rach, I don't know what to say…sorry seems inadequate…"

"It does, doesn't it? It didn't seem inadequate fourteen years ago. That was all you told Judy to tell me, right. Sorry? Must be your favorite word."

"I was a coward...I didn't think things through and I thought we were going to break-up anyways…" Quinn tried to explain.

"Really? We were breaking up? I didn't know; another thing you forgot to tell me? Where did you go, Quinn? If you didn't want to be with me why couldn't you have just said so?"

"I did want to be with you…"

"Funny way of showing it." Rachel answer sarcastically as the signal blinked and they crossed in the lead of a group of pedestrians.

"I didn't think there was a choice. I didn't get the scholarship I needed to go to NYU. I applied to a culinary school in Chicago…full ride, Rachel. It was my dream and it was coming true. What was I suppose to say, either your dream or my dream? What would you have done with that ultimatum?"

"And why couldn't we have had both our dreams, Quinn? What about the dream of us? When did you give up on that?"

"I didn't…" She replied lamely.

"Yes you did. You didn't even give me a choice." Rachel sniffled, angrily wiping unshed tears from her eyes.

"I thought it was the right thing to do."

Rachel stopped walking abruptly and turned flashing brown eyes on Quinn who took an unconscious step back and into the building behind her. "You thought it was the right thing to do? It was right to sneak out of town and have your mother basically break-up with me? It was right to force Brittany and even Santana to be in the middle of us and for the rest of our friends to choose a side? That was right?"

"And is it right now? Is it right for you to come waltzing back into my life and pretend that you did any of this for my benefit?" Rachel screeched, stomping a foot as she turned to walk away from Quinn.

Quinn's hand shot out and lightly gripped the other woman's forearm pulling the angry diva flush against her.

"I'm not saying it's right, but maybe it's destiny…" She whispered capturing her ex's lips in a searing kiss.

* * *

><p>FaBerry Kiss? OMG! Is it really going to be that easy?<p>

And I personally like Rinoa, you don't have to, but I do. I think a lot of stories have Quinn being the semi-attached one being like chased by another woman and Rachel either being married or something settled or she's single without prospects and I like the idea that some beautiful woman wants her, even if she hasn't had her. *shrug*

Ink


	6. Pow!  Right in the Kisser

So, picking up where we left off...

I only own the execution...oh and Rinoa...yep.

Enjoy!

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><p>Brittany tossed a frozen slab of bacon over the couch and held in the giggle as Quinn cried out in pain as the brick of bacon landed on her stomach. She came out of the kitchen and stood in front of the wounded woman.<p>

"Put the bacon over your eye. It'll help with the swelling."

"I can't believe the midget popped you one, Q." Santana smirked passing both blondes open bottles of beer. She gripped Brittany around the waist and brought her girlfriend to sit with her on the navy loveseat.

"I can. Really, Q? You can't just kiss Rae, it's been years and she's very angry at you still. You're suppose to take things slow." Brittany spoke to the other blonde as if she were a misbehaving child and the hazel-eyed woman felt thoroughly chastised.

"I guess I listened to the wrong voice in my head." Quinn shrugged holding the frozen slab of bacon over her purpling eye.

"You have voices in your head, too? Sometimes I hear Mr. Tubbington, but that's mostly when I'm hungry."

"Good job, Sybil I always knew you were psycho." Santana laughed.

"So, is Quinn going to stand outside of our shower in her mom's clothes now, Sanny, cuz I don't see how that's gonna get Rae to talk to her, though Judy is still a MILF, right San."

"Definite MILF." Santana's grin widened at Quinn's flushed face.

"Can we please change topics?

"Why? You shoulde be glad your moms is a MILF, gives you something to look forward to if you're lucky."

"Shut-up, we're not talking about my mom, we're talking about Rachel."

"No you're talking about Rachel. Look take her giving you a shiner as a good sign, if she didn't care at all she wouldn't have reacted so violently."

"So she punched me because she's got unresolved feelings for me?" Quinn arched the eyebrow over her unbruised eye, but the action still made the other side of her head hurt.

"Oh yeah, if I know anything, I know repression. That chicks got all types of unresolved Quinn issues." Santana leaned back crossing her arms matter-of-factly.

"Ok, so what am I suppose to do now, great guru Santana?" Quinn took a long gulp of her beer and adjusted the frozen meat over her eye.

"Your asking me to put myself in Rachel's place here, that could lead to all sorts of mental scarring."

"Mental scars mean brain scabs." Brittany mumbled to no one in particular.

Both women looked at the blonde dancer quizzically and then back at each other with a shrug, they were use to the often random things that the woman said, but that didn't mean she never caught them by surprise.

"Let me ask you this, Q, what do you want from Berry?"

"A chance..."

"For what?"

"Anything. I screwed up royally, I fucked up something that could have been forever and now I'd really be thankful for anything, but mostly forgiveness."

"I think that Rae has forgiven you, she's just like that. I just think she's hurt and like seeing you is like, like you know how pulling a band-aid off a scab hurts and like you can peel off the scab with it sometimes and it bleeds a little and your angry at the band-aid, but it was just doing it's job? Rach is like that. She's angry cuz seeing you brought back all this pain that she'd forgotten about cuz her band-aid was on it. Mental scars!" Brittany nodded satisfied with her answer to the problem as both women stared gap mouth at the blonde.

"My girl is a genius." Santana smiled toasting Brittany's beer with a quick bottle tap.

"Right. So now that the band-aid's ripped off what do I do to make the pain easier?" One hazel eye blinked at her companions.

"Cuz kissing it better obviously isn't the way." Santana guffawed.

"Stop being a meanie, San or no sexy time." Brittany poked her girlfriend in the side sharply.

Santana pretended to zip her lips and tried her hardest to look angelic. Brittany dropped a kiss on her temple and the blue eyes locked with one hazel eyes.

"Kisses only make things better when you have faith in the kisser. You can't make promises with your lips and expect Rae to believe them if she doesn't believe in you, Q."

Quinn nodded listening to Brittany's sage advice. She had to agree with Santana, Brittany probably was a genius.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you actually hit her." Kurt squeaked mouth almost in a perfect 'o' after Rachel explained to the group what had happened on her lunch hour.<p>

"I can, serves her right." Mercedes reached across Artie for the Garlic bread. It was their traditional Wednesday night spaghetti dinner. They'd been having one almost every Wednesday since they'd arrive in New York. Puck was often in semi-attendance by some sort of video-messaging depending on whose house they were at. He may not especially care about Kurts talk of fashionistas, nor Mercedes long-winded stories on their newest artist, but he always found Artie building his toast ends into a leaning tower amusing and he loved being a part of their makeshift family even if his real one was in the next room. They didn't know it, because he'd be damned if he ever told them, but they were his home away from home. So, when he looked into the screen and saw the worry creases on Rachel's forehead he instantly had to quash the desire to hop a flight to New York or call Quinn and give the blonde a piece of his mind.

Are you okay? He texted her phone not wanting to force her to discuss it in front of their friends if she wasn't ready.

He watched her slightly shake her head no and wasn't surprised when his phone vibrated.

**I shouldn't have hit her, no matter how angry I was. It was inappropriate and I'm frankly ashamed of myself...can I call you after everyone leaves? **

Like you have to ever ask. He felt better when she smiled into the screen at him and rejoined the conversation at hand.

Two hours later he was answering his phone when Rachel's name flashed brightly. They'd ended their group night thirty minutes ago, but he figured that Rachel was probably cleaning up afterwards with Artie and trying to convince him that she was okay.

"Hey Jewbabe, so tell the Puckster what's up?"

"Oh, Noah, what am I suppose to do? I can't believe I'm saying this but, I still love Quinn. I shouldn't love her, Noah! She hurt me so much and I feel utterly ridiculous for not being able to control my feelings."

"You can't help how you feel, Rachel."

"Well, I need to Noah, Artie and I finally went through with it and I'm not 100% sure but what if I'm pregnant? She would just leave me when she found out, Noah, who wouldn't? No one wants that baggage and I don't want to set myself up to be hurt again."

"I still can't believe you went through with that, babes." He ran a hand across his head and shook his head sadly.

"Why don't you think I'd be a good mom?" She frowned laying down on her bed.

"Of course you would...will, just...it never stops Rachel, it's like the greatest ride and the worst thing all rolled into one. One moment they're doing something that makes your whole world light up and then they follow that bright moment by like setting the drapes on fire." Rachel could stop herself from giggling.

"How are the kids? And Lauren, how is she?"

"The twins, P.J. and Naomi started kindergarten by telling their class in detail where babies come from, with pretty graphic and accurate drawings. Everyone swears it was his idea, but I think my little girl is the ringmaster to that circus. Izzy decided to set a booby trap for the tooth fairy which I got tangled up in and I almost got caught! Lauren would have killed me if he found out that the tooth fairy wasn't real, she's not ready for her baby boy to not believe anymore."

"It's kind of your own fault, Noah. With Lauren and your track records of course your children are going to be a handful." She said between giggles.

"I'm glad you find my pain amusing." He mumbled, but smiled happy that he's made his friend smile.

"I'm glad you helped me not to think about this Quinn thing, Noah."

"Me too. Don't worry, Rach, you'll figure it all out, ok and if you need me you know the Puckster's got your back and will be on the plane and knocking heads by dinnertime."

"Okay, Noah, I understand, _knocking heads_, got it. Thanks for the talk Noah, goodnight." She smiled

"Anytime, BerryBabe, night." He smiled hanging up and then trudging up the stairs losing his footing halfway on Izzy's stuffed bear.

* * *

><p>So?<p>

Some PuckleBerry (cuz if you've read my other stories you know I 3 that friendship) and Fabrittana friendly banter. I also love writing Brittany because I get to be as random as I wanna.

Next some Faberry convo and moving forward.

Ink


	7. A Telling Sickness

I'm getting sick on top of trying to pack my gear for this move so I'm only halfway alive...lol. Anyways, stick with me, I'm promising right now that there will be no author's notes apologizing for this or any of my stories going on hold...I hate that and I'm not doing it to you, but chaps might be shorter than usual sometimes.

Errors are all mine

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Two days later, Quinn rounded the corner to <em>Charmed<em> and was surprised to find Rachel sitting at one of the outside tables a foiled wrapped plate in front of her. As she came closer the brunette head popped up and brown eyes peered at her.

"Morning Rachel?" She questioned stopping in front of the glass door and fishing in her bag for the keys.

"Good morning Quinn, I thought I should...I mean, I just wanted to apologize for hitting you, it was uncalled for, so I made you my patented, _I'm Sorry _cookies, which I suppose seems dumb since you clearly can make your own cookies...But, I find my actions truly regretful and hope you can forgive my violent act." She rambled rising and pushing the plate into her arms.

"So, yeah...enjoy and well...yeah..." She stammered avoiding her gaze.

"Don't leave, okay...come in and I'll make us some breakfast." Quinn smiled uneasily.

"I don't..." Rachel shook her head slightly.

"Just breakfast, no promises no boundaries overstepped." Quinn opened the door holding it to allow the smaller woman to enter first.

Rachel shook her head, but walked past her and into the sunlit cafe. Quinn's smile returned as she followed behind the brunette.

"Take any seat you like and I'll be back with some food..." Quinn hurried to the kitchen and started preparing a quick breakfast.

When she exited the kitchen almost thirty minutes later she was almost surprised to find Rachel seated at a booth. She had thought that the moment she went into the kitchen the other woman was going to run. She readjusted the platter in her hand and walked over to where her ex sat, trying to appear more confident than she really felt.

"I didn't know if you were still going to be here." She smiled uneasily and sat the platter on the table as she sat across from the brunette.

"Well, running away isn't really my style." Sharp brown eyes turned her way and then glanced down at the platter on the table.

"I deserved that." Quinn shrugged fiddling with a cut of pear on her side of the platter.

"No, you don't. I'm trying not to be so petty Quinn, but it's so hard to be completely forgiving with you right here in front of me. It was easier when you were wherever doing whatever." Rachel whispered taking one of the buckwheat waffles corners and putting some of the assorted berries on it.

"I wish I'd made a different decision…"

"Let's not rehash this, Quinn, what's done is done, we can't change it now." The brunette nibbled on her waffle and berries.

"I need you to know that if I could I would…"

Rachel shut her eyes tightly and the hand that had been holding her waffle corner clenched into a tight fist. To Quinn she looked like she was in a great deal of pain and she reached a hand across the table and tentatively touched the other woman's fist.

"Rach? Are you okay?"

"Bathroom?" The tiny brunette mumbled swallowing.

"Of course it's in the back down the hall, first door on the right." She barely got out as her ex took her fist back, standing and hurrying in the direction of the toilets. She stood up watching as the Jewish woman sped off unsure of whether or not she should follow or what was ailing the woman. After a few indecisive moments she followed the woman with a long stride, glad that there were no customers to witness the woman's sickness.

"Rachel? Rach?" She slowly opened the swinging door and found Rachel in the first stall kneeling with her head halfway in the bowl.

She stepped forward and held the woman's long brown hair away from her face and rubbed her back in small circles while the woman emptied her stomach.

"Are you alright?" Quinn asked after Rachel's vomiting had subsided and she managed to sit on the toilet seat heaving in air.

"I-I need to go home."

"I've got a futon in my office, maybe you should lay down first and I'll call you a cab in an hour or so?" Quinn tried to compromise not really willing to allow the sick woman out of her eyesight.

"No. I just—can you just call Artie?" Palm shaking the woman passed Quinn her cell phone.

"Um…I…Okay." She sighed not really understanding what the wheelchair-bound man had to do with anything nor happy that Rachel wouldn't really allow her to help.

She stood up and walked to the water cooler pouring a paper cup of cold water and stepped back inside the stall to hand it to her still heaving ex. "Drink some of this okay, your throat's probably going to be really dry."

She stood back up and paced the tiled floor as she listened to some random r&b song playing from Artie's phone.

" Your Awesome Roommate, what's going on?"

"Hey, Artie? It's Quinn…"

"Quinn? Why do you have Rachel's phone?" He asked and she glanced in the open stall at Rachel.  
>"She's-she's sick, Artie and she said to call you, but she vomited and she's now dry heaving in one of my bathroom stalls."<p>

"She vomited?" Worry laced his voice.

"Yes…"

"Did she eat anything?"

"Not really, I'd just brought the food out and she was barely nibbling it, it came absolutely out of nowhere."

"I'll be there a few minutes, okay? Tell her I'm on the way." He replied urgently and hung up before she could reply. She looked from the phone in her hand to the woman slumped in the stall fought the urge to question her about the nature of their relationship.

"Come on, you can curse me all you want, but you're laying down on that futon until he gets here." She strode back into the stall and easily hoisted the smaller woman up and wobbled with her until she rolled her onto the black futon in her office, nudging the small trashcan so that it was near her head in case she felt the need to vomit again.

"I don't know what's going on," She whispered taking a seat on the edge of the futon in front of Rachel, "it's not any of my business I know, but you're gonna be okay, Rachel." She kissed the woman's head near her closed eye and got up with the intent of cleaning their mess and waiting for either Katie or Artie to arrive.

"Hey Bosslady." Katie smiled skipping into the cafe with a bright smile on her face.

"Stop calling me that, Katherine." Quinn groaned picking up the mostly uneaten platter.

"Katie. I like it it makes you seem like the mafia."

"But, I'm not the mafia." Quinn walked to the kitchen the blonde following.

"But we could be, right? There's no rule that we can't like start our own Mafia, Q." Katie smirked hopping on the counter top.

"I don't know, Kat, I don't know the underworld bylaws by heart." The older blonde worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

"What's up, Q?"

"Huh, nothing…just, just a lot on my mind." She shrugged at the younger blonde glancing at the door that leads to her office.

"What's in the office, Q?" Katie grinned hopping down from the counter and ducking passed Quinn, "Is it a puppy? Did you get me a puppy?" She bounced grabbing the handle and swinging the door open only to find Rachel asleep.

"A small—Rachel? Shitty present, Q…" Katie frowned, shoulders sagging slightly.

"She's not a gift for you…" Quinn sighed pulling the woman out of her office and shutting the door.

"Of course not, cause Rachel's yours, duh, Q." Katie rolled her eyes.

"She's not mine—can you just go out front and open the door, that's what I pay you for, Kat." Quinn shook her head as she pushed the other woman out of the swinging door.

"Q!" Quinn sighed when the moments later the door swung back inward.

"Didn't I just say go work?"

"Well, yeah, but when I went out there there was a robot man looking through the door, kinda freaked me out…"

"Robot?" Quinn arched an eyebrow and then she remembered something Brittany had said when they were in high school. "Artie." She brushed pass the blue-eyes blonde and out find Artie wheeling himself back and forth in front of the café.

"Oh, that's Wheels? He's kinda cute…you know for a cyborg." Brittany's sister giggled waving a few fingers at the man as Quinn opened the door and let in her old classmate.

"Hey, Artie, Rachel's asleep in my office."

"Sup, Quinn. Is that Brittany's clone, damn if she doesn't look just like her."

"I'm not a clone am I, Q? Like you'd tell me if I was like made from B's split ends or something?"

"Yes, Kat, I promise if you were B's split ends clone I'd tell you." Quinn sighed again and then turned back to Artie. "You're okay to take her right? Do you need me to come…or….?"

"No- - No, I've got it Q, there's an Access-Taxi waiting for us outside." He smiled, but Quinn just felt like he was hiding something from her.

"O-ok…I'll just go get her…" She shrugged feeling a bit useless, but she decided to push those feelings aside and went into the back gently picking Rachel up and carefully walking her out.

"Has she been sick?" Quinn queried following Artie out of the café to the awaiting van.

"Um…n-no..not especially, it's probably just a stomach virus there have been some things floating around and I think maybe Blaine might have passed something on from the kids at school…" He avoided her eyes as she settled the petite diva across the backmost seat of the van.

"You'd tell me if it was something serious, right?" She crossed her arms as the driver strapped the man into the lift.

Artie glanced down at his lap and then looked up into Quinn's eyes. "No. Don't take this the wrong way, Quinn, because seriously, I've got nothing but love for you, but when it comes to Rach, she's always gonna win. We've been through a lot together and anything she wants to tell you is her telling you, not me." He shrugged and Quinn honestly couldn't find a reply so she just stood there staring at Rachel in the backseat with a stern look of concentration on her face, until they drove off.

* * *

><p>I had a little trouble with Artie's voice only cuz I think he's kinda of dorky hip...lol I also kind love writing Katie cuz she's like a more energetic pesky little sister, if your pesky little sister was Brittany.<p>

Expect Quinn to rev up her game...no one likes to be out of the loop...

Ink


	8. Forward

So, picking up where we left off...I hope you guys are liking this, really, but honestly as long as Riverkirby's still digging it I'mma keep penning it. : )

I own errors...Katie and Rinoa...not Glee tho...

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Pregnant, pregnant, pregnant, pregnant, pregnant!" Rachel tossed the pregnancy tests one by one at Artie who had stationed himself outside the bathroom door.<p>

"You're making it seem like a bad thing, Rach." The man grinned.

"No, it's a good thing, a very very good thing. It's what I wanted..."

"...but?" He watched her as she washed her hands and exited the bathroom.

"But, Quinn..."

"Let me guess, " He followed closely behind the diva, "You're finally ready to admit you still love her, but now you've got the baby on the way and you guys'...whatever is already tenuous enough as is...you don't trust her completely and your afraid that if you two start something again she's gonna run again."

"Am I that transparent?" She shrugged opening the refrigerator and pulling out hummus, peanuts, pickles, and kale.

He scrunched his face as he watched the girl spread the hummus on a leaf of kale, pour on a handful of peanuts and wrap that around a pickle. "No...I'm just inside your head at all time, except now, cuz I can't believe you're going to eat that."

She shrugged and took a bite grinning like it was the greatest thing she'd ever eaten.

"Just because you're pregnant, doesn't mean you have to eat disgusting combos." The brown-haired guy smiled.

Rachel shrugged thinking what she'd just eaten had been delicious. She looked into his blue eyes and frowned slightly. "What am I going to do about Quinn?"

"What do you want to do, Rachel? Maybe you just need closure or maybe the reason why none of your other relationships worked is because they really weren't the right one." He shrugged.

"I always knew you were a hopeless romantic." She giggled trying to lighten the mood and not think about the implications of the man's words.

"Don't tell Puck, he'd never let me live it down."

"Like he's not the same way," She laughed at their friend's posturing, "he's the one who married his high school sweetheart straight out of high school."

"True that." He nodded grabbing a juicebox from the fridge. "So, when are we going to the doctor? And don't tell me I don't have to go, I know I'm not Daddy Artie, but I'm still your roommate and friend and I've got your back, girl."

Rachel smiled at the man who had proven himself to be a stalwart friend and confidant. "I-we see Doctor Farley in the morning. You know one of these days you're going to find someone who really deserves you, Artie." She kissed his cheek walking pass the man and into her bedroom.

He watched the door close tightly and slid out his cell phone. He dialed the number quickly eyes not moving from the closed door. When the woman finally picked up she grumbled for a few minutes before finally greeting him with a few harsh words about waking him up.

"Look this is Artie, you don't like me and I'm not the fondest of you either."

"I like you!" He heard Brittany in the background and couldn't help smiling.

"Hey, I don't not like you, Ironsides, high school was high school and sure you tried to steal my girl, but truth be told I was kind of an idiot back then and deserved it, but if you tell anyone I admitted that I'm denying til I die."

"Understood. I called about…"

"Q and Rachie!" Brittany exclaimed.

"Right again, see I think they're still right for each other…"

"Duh, Ironsides, but your little slugger doesn't seem quite ready to pursue that kind of relationship."

"Maybe, maybe not…just don't let Quinn give up, okay…not again." He whispered glancing furtively at the door making sure that it didn't open.

"We make sure she don't quit then you make sure, Rock 'Em-Sock 'Em doesn't keep sending her home with black eyes, cuz as much as anyone likes a little roughness in a relationship she's not as tough as she pretends, ok?" Santana almost mumbled and he was sure the Latina was slightly ashamed to admit that she actually cared.

"Ok, then Operation…"

"There is no operation anything, that's lame, we just have an understanding." Santana grumbled interrupting him and then hanging up without so much as a goodbye.

"Nice talking to you as well, Santana..." He shook his head tossing his phone on the side table and turning on the television.

* * *

><p>Quinn rehearsed what she intended to say to Rachel again in her head before finally knocking on the wood door. Brittany had given her Artie and Rachel's apartment number and after reassuring her for the thousandth time that they were not together she urged her to go check on Rachel. After the other morning neither Rachel nor Artie contacted her to tell her everything was okay, and she couldn't blame them she didn't have a right to the information, didn't stop her from wanted to know though.<p>

"Quinn?" Rachel opened the door wearing cowprint pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt that read: No One Likes A Vegetarian.

"Hey Rach, I-uh…I just wanted to make sure you were alright, had me worried." She smiled uneasily.

"Yea-I mean yes, Quinn, nothing to worry about just a mild stomach virus…Come in, as long as you're not worried about me being contagious…." The Jewish woman brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and opened the door wider so she could step into the apartment.

"No worries here." Quinn's smile widened and she followed the other woman into the apartment.

"Oh, yeah…I brought you these…" She awkwardly handed her ex-girlfriend the flowers she'd picked up on the way.

Um…thanks, Quinn…they're lovely…" Rachel walked into the kitchen and she found herself wondering around the living room eyes glancing from picture to picture. There were a lot of her and Artie together laughing and smiling in different locals. _They must be close._ There were pictures of the other Gleeks, pictures of Mercedes and Kurt flanking Rachel with the Divas, Inc. building in the back ground, and one 8' x 12' of Puck, Zizes and their kids. She stopped wandering as her eyes fell across the door that undoubtedly led to Rachel's room. They might have grown up, but the other woman's affinity for stars hadn't been lost. The door was slightly ajar and tacked to the center was a huge brass star. She smiled slightly and pressed lightly on the door curiosity burning inside of her.

"Quinn?" Rachel snapped her from her thoughts and she turned to face the other woman.

"Sorry, I was just looking at your photos. How long have you and Artie been roommates?" She queried sitting down on the couch.

"Since sophomore year. I didn't realize in high school how much we have in common, but he's been great and he handles my high strung moments very well." She beamed.

"What about Divas? How did that all start? I thought the end game was always Broadway."

Rachel smiled again looking down at the fingers in her lap. "I did a few shows. A bunch off Broadway, a lot to pretty good reviews, but then Mercedes found this R&B singer, Tonio and she couldn't find anyone who would give him a shot so she had an idea for the label and she wanted Kurt and me to go in with her. I love music Quinn, I love introducing people to honest to god good music more than the stage, I didn't know that in high school, but I do now. So, we released Tonio's first album, _Lines_…"

"Wait! You guys discovered that guy? I love that song, _Landmines_." The blonde gushed excitedly.

"I wrote that." Rachel grinned.

"Wow, Rachel…I'm—I'm so proud of you."

The brunette shrugged bashfully. "Well, he got picked up by Universal and the rest is history. It's very fulfilling to start people's careers, Quinn."

"Like Rinoa.." Quinn muttered darkly.

Rachel arched an eyebrow. " Yes, Rinoa's one of our most recent artists, we're working on her album right now. You should hear some of her work, you'd probably like it. You're voices are very similar."

Quinn nodded deciding that it was best not to utter any of the comments floating around her head in reference to the singer.

"What about you Quinn…tell me about this Quinn…?" Rachel murmured and Quinn watched her play with the fingers in her lap.

"Me? Well…I worked for a summer in Italy, graduated with honors. I worked at an upscale bakery in Chicago for a few years, nothing grand. Did night work as a sous chef at a restaurant off the loop. It was fast paced and crazy and I loved it. All the while I was perfecting my cooking, making things on my own time with flavors that I liked, so when I got a stack of foods that I knew were unique and would Wow people Santana called me and talked me into moving to new York, she said that people here loved their cafés. That I could find a niche here. I really just started, but the response has been pretty good so far."

"Yes, I've heard. I read a review by Warren Quizare, he's one of the toughest food critics and he gave you one of the highest ratings. You're doing very well, Quinn…I'm glad." Rachel's head bowed again and the pair devolved into silence, both thinking over all the years between them and all the things they'd missed in the other's life.

Quinn didn't know what to say. She couldn't keep apologizing; words did no good in this situation. She'd mess up, Rachel was right about that. She hadn't given them the chance to work things out as a couple. She should have been more sure about Rachel then, more sure that they could have made it, and maybe they wouldn't have, but at least she could have tried.

She knew she couldn't keep dwelling on it, either Rachel was going to allow her a second chance or she wasn't. She hoped that Rachel was as forgiving as she'd always been and she wasn't expecting a miracle, she didn't think that Rachel and her would just fall, back together, she just wanted a chance.

"Rach—" "Quinn—" They both spoke at the same time then Rachel motioned for her to go ahead and speak.

"I—I don't know…maybe…this…" The blonde took a deep breath and began again. "I thought about what I would say to you if I ever got a chance and now I'm messing it all up. I messed up, Rachel and I'm adult enough to admit it, and maybe a lot of people would say I don't deserve a second chance, but you were never like a lot of people. You were always unique and you were always forgiving and big on giving people a second chance and I just hope that you feel like I could be a person who deserves one from you…" Quinn nervously weaved her fingers through her hair.

"Quinn…" Rachel sighed avoiding her eyes.

"Please Rachel, I'm not asking for your hand in marriage although I'm sure if you give me another chance…well, I won't go there, but please just give me this just a couple of dates, I promise we can go as slow as you like, please." She pleaded.

Rachel sighed and Quinn was sure that she was going to deny her again. She looked up at her brown eyes shining with unshed tears. She didn't know what she would do if she said no, if she denied her a second chance.

"Okay, Quinn…"

"Really?" Quinn grinned moving across the couch so that she sat nearer to the brunette.

"Yes, really, but we're going slow." She wrapped her pale fingers in Rachel's tan ones.

"Okay, slow."

* * *

><p>Well?<p>

Ink


	9. Landmines

This chap is kind of fillerish and I apologize for it's tardiness, but my body took another hit of sickness.

I own so very little and Glee isn't part of that...

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"You don't think she asked for a group date because she doesn't want to be more than a friend, do you?" Quinn pondered calling out to Santana and Brittany who were sitting in her living room waiting for her to finish getting ready.<p>

Rachel had technically asked her out, but had also indicated that Artie, Kurt, Blaine, Mercedes, and her husband Nicholas would be there; their label was having a very swanky open mic. The brunette had insisted she invite Brittany and Santana who had jumped at an impromptu glee get together.

"Don't be stupid, Q. She invited you cuz she wants you there." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, Q, if she just wanted eye candy she could have just gone with that Rinoa chick." Brittany replied to growls by both Quinn and Santana.

"What, Sanny? She's tasty, totally not my type, but still..." Brittany shrugged at the frowning Latina.

"Can we talk about anything else? Absolutely anything." Quinn sighed exasperated.

"How about how you're going to make us late if you keep fidgeting around with your look when you already look gorgeous?" Santana growled as Quinn flipped the light for the bathroom off.

"Aw San, you think I look gorgeous." Quinn giggled grabbing her black clutch and following the couple out the door.

* * *

><p>When they arrived at the club, Zambooki, the first thing they noticed was the huddled group of smokers outside the entrance. The big bouncer checked their names off the list and waved them right in explaining that Divas, Inc execs were in VIP.<p>

Santana looped her arm with her blonde girlfriend and departed for the bar soon after they entered, which left Quinn wandering through the crowd trying to make her way to the roped off area.

"Hey Quinn!" She smiled coolly at Rachel's greeting as she walked upon her standing right outside of the lounge area with Rinoa standing next to her.

"Hey Rach." She lightly kissed the brunette's cheek.

"This the musician I was telling you about the other day, Rinoa Michaels. Rinoa, this is Quinn Fabray." The woman offer a slender hand and Quinn begrudgingly took it in her own.

"Rae, are you going to make me force you to accept this cosmo?" Rinoa smirked letting Quinn's hand drop.

"I'm not drinking tonight, " Rachel slipped her hand into Quinn's and pulled her towards the lounge, "Come on, Quinn."

"Okay, Rae, tell the cutie with the wheels to save me a dance." The singer smiled brilliantly lighting a kiss on the divas other cheek and sauntering through the crowd.

"Does she hit on everyone?" Quinn watched the woman leave and then turned back to look into doe eyes.

Rachel shrugged. "Just about..."

"What time does the open mic start?" Quinn asked squeezing Rachel's hand.

"In a few minutes, I think Tonio is suppose to stop by, maybe we can coax him into singing _Landmines_ specially for you."

"You think?" Quinn blushed gently as they arrived at the table filled with the former glee kids.

She was slightly surprised by the friendly hellos along with a quick introduction to a tall Latino man with a neatly trimmed goatee who turned out to be Mercedes husband, Nicholas.

"Hey Santana, Brittany!" Mercedes rose and hugged the two women as they also made their way to the table.

"So does this mean that you won't be threatening me any time soon?" Quinn whispered to the African-American diva as they all took a seat.

"Not now, but if you hurt her..." She snapped her head with attitude.

"Think that constitutes a threat..." Quinn smirked.

"If it was a real threat you'd know it was, Blondie." Mercedes snapped back going back to her conversation with Kurt and Blaine.

"And that's why we all don't get together more often." Santana deadpanned taking a quick sip of her Martini.

"I'll be right back, I'm starting off the showcase." Rachel hopped out of her seat and patted Quinn's wrist gently.

She made her way to the stage through the crowd and stood in front of the mic. The house music died down and the spotlight surrounded the small brunette.

She brushed fingers through her thick hair. "Hey everyone, I'm Rachel Berry," there was a brief spattering of applause, "Welcome to the Divas, Inc. open mic showcase for our current and future artists. First to the stage is a local band despite the name, round of applause for Frisco." She started off the applause and stepped off to the side as the lead singer a even tinier woman with blue hair stepped up.

Quinn couldn't help but watch her former girlfriend rather than the band as the blue-haired girl sung a song about trains and bad choices. She watched closely as Rachel made her way back towards VIP stopped here and there to hug some one, shake a hand or kiss a cheek lightly. It seemed to the blonde that the tiny diva was well-known and well liked by the crowd and by watching her she could see why; Rachel stopped for anyone and everyone who signaled for her attention.

"Each artist introduces the next." Rachel said as she retook her seat next to Quinn.

"Do you like the band?" Rachel asked after Frisco started their next song.

"Mhmm." Quinn answered mindlessly knowing full well that she'd been paying more attention to watching the brunette beside her than listening to the band. "Where did you guys discover them?"

"Actually on another open mic night they came in an wowwed the audience and Mercedes and I, Kurt took a little more convincing and of course hates their style."

"Ripped jeans and neon hair is not a style." Kurt sighed from across the table.

"Everyone can't look like dress up Ken doll." Santana quipped from the side.

"As in-eloquent as this may sound, _shove it Satan_." Kurt sighed taking a sip of whatever slim drink was in front of him.

The former teammates continued their friendly banter throughout the night as bands and solo acts came and went from the stage. Rachel took the time to tell Quinn a quick anecdote about each act and Quinn listened attentively. Mercedes and Kurt even managed to add comments that were neither snide nor threatening. Brittany and Santana left halfway through the night and took over the small dance floor, with Brittany showcasing for the audience like she was getting paid.

"Hey, everyone, I'm Rinoa, but you all know that, right!" The pierced singer called for attention to the microphone. There was a chorus of _rights_ and Rachel shook her head at the woman's over the top nature.

"Well, we were hoping that Tonio was going to make it tonight to sing some hits, including _Landmines_, but he couldn't make it soooooo I figured I do a pretty good acoustic rendition of that song and maybe with a little begging and a stroke or two of her ego we can get the songwriter up here to go through it with me. What do you say, Rae? Duet?" Rinoa smirked her eyes twinkling in the low lights. Suddenly there were continuous shouts of: _Rachel Rachel Rachel_ as the crowd cheered the former starlet back into the limelight.

"Go on, Rach, I'd much rather hear you than Tonio." Quinn grinned pulling out Rachel's chair as the diva sat up and made her way to the makeshift stage.

"Okay, okay. If I had more sense or shame I suppose I'd be more sufficiently embarrassed, but alas I still love applause." Rachel beamed. "Happy Rin?"

"Oh, yes, any chance to be on stage with you makes me ecstatic." The green eyed woman smirked back, picking up the acoustic guitar that was off to her right.

Quinn frowned watching the exchange, but tried to focus on Rachel and not her interaction with the beautiful singer.

Long fingers plucked easily at the guitar strings and Rinoa's pink tongue edged out of her mouth. Rachel took a seat on the edge of the wooden stool and danced fingers on the top of the microphone.

Rachel closed her eyes as Rinoa began to play the intro for _Landmines_. "Tell me and I'll stop walking / stop tripping / stop searching (searching)…what you want / isn't me / unless I'm hidden (hidden)…."

Quinn hated to admit that Rachel and Rinoa's voices blended beautifully. She'd always wondered where the inspiration for _Landmines_ had come from when she'd heard Tonio's version, but now hearing Rachel's version the feelings expressed were so much more raw. She could visualize a younger anguished Rachel laying all her heart on paper and she wondered if the song was about her, but felt conceited even thinking it might be.

She spotted Santana and Brittany swaying with the rest of the crowd as Rachel smoothly hit some of the higher notes of the song. The singer herself was swaying lightly and smiling into the microphone as they reached the emotional climax of the song where the was a brief guitar solo that Rinoa handled masterfully, Quinn again begrudgingly admitted. Then Rachel caught her eye as she sang the last words: "I can't be here, idle / waiting—(waiting) / for you to finally decide you're through…" and Quinn felt like even if they weren't right now, at one point they had been meant for her.

* * *

><p>We're moving along...uh-huh...<p>

Thanks for the reviews and whatnot...stay tuned...

Those very sad lyrics are mine...I'm a poet not a songwriter..so there! And that's why they're incomplete...lol

Ink


	10. A Time to Tell

So, sorry if this took longer than anticipated...I work five days and then have to move the two I'm off before the month is over...so...anyways.

I Don't Own Glee...

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"So, when are you going to tell her that you're pregnant?" Puck asked over the phone as Rachel twirled in her office chair. She and Quinn had been dating for a month or so now and things seemed to be going well, but she felt guilty not telling the blonde about her condition.<p>

The morning sickness had eased a bit and she had gained a bit of weight, but she wasn't showing enough to give anything away.

She was so afraid that if she told Quinn that she'd leave, but maybe it was better to tell her now before she got too use to the woman's presence just to have her run again. She also didn't want her to find out from anyone else, but her, she owed her that much.

"Soon…" She mumbled trying to dodge the question.

"Rachel…" He sighed "…I'm not even going to explain to you how messed up it is, you not telling her."

"I know, Noah, but what if she leaves?" She fiddled with the hem of her shirt with her free hand.

"Then I'll be on the first flight out to help you get over it, cuz all that means is she doesn't deserve you afterall."

"You're right. She said she has a surprise for me this weekend, but I guess, I'll tell her before Monday, promise."

"Rachel?" The woman in question spun around to face the door to find her assistant leaning against the doorframe. "Quinn just arrived, Mercedes talking to her in the lobby."

Rachel opened her mouth alarmed, it didn't matter that the two had called a truce leaving Mercedes and Quinn together for too long was a sure recipe for disaster.

"Puck, I've gotta go…. I promise I'll call you on Monday, I have to go save Quinn from Mercedes…or vice-versa…" She ended in a whisper hanging up as Puck returned the salutations.

"They seemed cordial enough." The other woman smiled nervously as Rachel gather some odds and ends from around her desk.

"That makes it worse, the calm before a vicious, vicious storm." Rachel sped from the room with her assistant keeping pace.

* * *

><p>"So, where are you taking Rachel?" Mercedes steepled her hands and peered over them at Quinn.<p>

"It's a surprise." Quinn shrugged avoiding the intensity of the other woman's gaze. She could never tell what was going on in Mercedes' head. One moment the woman could be cool, calm, and collected the next she would be raging and threatening.

"Nothing too physical, right?"

"Um...no, not too..."

"Good." The darker woman nodded curtly.

"Quinn, Mercedes?" Rachel called and Quinn glanced nervously at the door to Mercedes office.

"Well, Cedes, as always it was great catching up with you, but uh...I've got to go." Quinn smiled uneasily and stood.

She was taken by complete surprise when Mercedes leaned forward and tightly gripped the front of her pink polo. She pulled the paler woman down close to her and growled slightly.

"If you hurt her I won't hesitate to destroy you." Mercedes snapped, teeth bared.

Quinn gulped and nodded, sufficiently frightened by the other woman's threat. Merceds nodded as well and released her shirt. She shakily back away from her former classmate's desk not comfortable with giving the woman her back until she'd reached the door.

"Oh, and Quinn?" Quinn paused inside the frame. "Have a great weekend."

"Thanks..." Quinn mumbled hurrying away from the door, shaken.

"Quinn, honey are you alright?" Rachel appeared at her side and threaded their arms together. "You're not getting sick are you? Would you prefer if we cance-"

Quinn pressed her lips quickly to the brunette's effectively ending her rambling. She folded slightly, leaning her forehead against Rachel's and looking into her big brown eyes.

"I'm fine. Are you ready to go?" She smiled as Rachel nodded absently.

"Well, let's get going." Quinn straightened and gently guided the other woman out of the building.

* * *

><p>"Quinn, I really don't believe that the blindfold is necessary." Rachel pouted from her place in the passenger seat of Quinn's jeep.<p>

"Maybe not, but it's definitely part of the fun." Quinn poked the diva lightly.

"Are we there yet?" The brunette crossed her arms and slumped in her seat.

"Almost."

"This better be good, Quinn Fabray."

Quinn chuckled and turned up the gravel pathway. "Okay, 1, 2, 3...take off the blindfold!"

"Scarf." Rachel scoffed sticking her tongue out at the blonde. She pulled the scarf from her eyes and Quinn watched her former girlfriend's eyes light up in amazement as she took in the house in front of her.

Quinn couldn't blame her for her speechlessness, her house was impressive. The place use to be an old abandoned barn and Quinn had sunk alot of her savings and proceeds from a cookbook she'd co-authored into fixing it to her specifications. The outside was painted a rich red and there was a wrap around cedar porch woth outdoor fans and wicker furniture. On either side of the walkway to the house there were apple trees.

"Oh Quinn it's gorgeous, is it yours?"

"Yes, I don't get out here as much because I have so much work to do in the city so I mostly rent there with Santana and Brittany, but this place is my baby, it's not completely finished inside, but well, I wanted to share this with you." Quinn's cheeks colored slightly. "Yeah, um, come on let's go inside."

They both stepped out of the jeep, Quinn grabbed their bags chivalrously and guided the diva up the set of two steps and towards the front door. Quinn pushed the door inwards and Rachel gasped loudly. The foyer was beautiful with hardwood floors and rich green paint on the wall. There were pictures hung gallery style on the walls and Rachel found herself glancing at them, smiling as she passed picture of Judy, Frannie and her family, one particular amusing picture of the unholy trinity plus Katie on what appeared to be Santana's birthday indicated by the cake smeared across her face. Her smile falter slightly when she moved on to find a large black and white picture of herself and Quinn at their junior prom.

She trace the frame slowly recalling how Quinn had forsaken her prom queen and king dance with Finn to dance with her. She'd been so in love with Quinn, she'd seen nothing but stars and hearts that night.

"That was a good night." Rachel smiled back at Quinn who was still standing by the door.

"Yeah, it was." Quinn's mind was back to thinking about what had happened after the prom. It had been the first time they'd made love.

"Come on I'll give you the tour and then I'll fix us a quick _Lupper_." Quinn smirked shaking her head slightly to loosen all the memories that were trying to assail her.

* * *

><p>Quinn hovered near the sink washing the plates from their share <em>Lupper<em>. She was humming along with the radio and dancing slightly. She hadn't been this carefree in a long time. It was nice to know that Rachel trusted her, that she cared for her and believed that Quinn wanted them to work this time.

"Quinn...?" She smiled an turned her head slightly to find Rachel approaching her. She peered into dark brown eyes and arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, Rae?"

Rachel just smiled brightly and cozied up to her. She stepped on her tip-toes and kissed Quinn's neck. She trailed kisses up Quinn neck to her chin and Quinn could feel the brunette's eyelashes fluttering against her skin.

"Rae?" She gulped her face heating up.

"Yes Quinn?" The brunette's fingers crawled up the inside of her shirt and she shivered.

"Wha-what are you doing?"

"Do you want me to stop?" Rachel scratched her nails along her sides and she lost the ability to make coherent conversation.

"N-No, but are you sure...?" She groaned.

"Yes." Rachel pulled her face down and pressed their lips together.

Rachel turned her head and rested her sweaty cheek against Quinn's dining room table. She bit her lip feeling a bout of nauseous bubbling through her stomach. She was unsure if it was morning sickness or the idea of telling Quinn the truth. She felt a tadbit bad for sleeping with Quinn, not because she hadn't wanted to, because she had, but it had been selfish. She'd wanted to be with Quinn one last time just in case telling her really would be a death-note for their burgeoning relationship.

Quinn crawled up the table to hover over her. She kissed Rachel's clavicle and nuzzled her chest.

"I thought we were going slow...?" Quinn giggled.

"We were then we weren't anymore." Rachel frowned slightly and hoped that Quinn didn't catch the heaviness of her mood, but she did.

"What's wrong? Are-are we ok? Are you okay? Talk to me..." Quinn brushed a finger down her cheek.

"Quinn..." Rachel closed her eyes tightly "...I'm..I'm...QuinnI'mpregnant."

"What?"

"I'm pregnant..."

Quinn chuckled lightly and kissed the side of her head causing brown eyes to reopen. "Medically impossible, Crazy."

"I'm serious. I'm pregnant Quinn, I've known for a while now, I just didn't know how to tell you, but I am. I'm pregnant."

"I don't understand, Rachel. What was this then?" Quinn frowned slipping off of the table and Rachel sat up.

"Let me explain, Quinn..."

"Explain what? You lied to me Rachel." Quinn stormed to where her pants were draped across the breakfast bar and jerked them on angrily.

"Please give me a chance to explain..." Rachel stumbled with her word. Quinn jerked on her shirt and stomped to the backdoor slamming it open against the wall.

"Where are you going?" Rachel asked barely above the whisper a tear slipping down her face as Quinn disappeared outside.

* * *

><p>I hope you guys like it. So the truth is out, but don't worry, all will be alright...<p>

Ink


	11. Chances

So, here we go again...

I don't own Glee or The Back-Up Plan...

I do own mistakes...sorry! And I do own the fact that the update's short...I'm still packing and moving and it's cutting into my writing time...

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Rachel curled herself around the throw pillow on Quinn's couch; the blonde hadn't returned yet and although she was sure she was the last person her ex wanted to see she didn't have a way to leave. She didn't know where Quinn had gone and she was worried that she wasn't planning on returning. She'd already planned to call Blaine or Artie in the morning to come get her if the blonde didn't return, but for now she wished she could just sleep. She was sure that any ride back to the city would just be uncomfortable and awkward for them both, so it was probably better to save them both the displeasure.<p>

She heard the kitchen door creak open and shut and resisted the urge to pop up. She heard Quinn's soft footsteps make their way across the floor and then go up the stairs. A moment later she heard the footsteps make their way back down and come closer.

"You could have slept in the bed. There's no way that this couch is comfortable or particularly good for you in your condition…" Quinn's husky voice came from above her.

"I figured that I wasn't particularly welcome in your house much less your bedroom any longer. This seemed the safest place." She sat up against the arm of the couch and looked over at Quinn as she fully entered the room and switched on a lamp flooding the room with fluorescent light.

"I wouldn't hurt you Rachel..."

"But you would run from me, again?" Rachel crossed her arms recalling how hurt she was when Quinn ran earlier that evening.

"How did you imagine I was going to react when you dropped that bomb on me, Rach?"

"I thought you'd give me the benefit of the doubt. I thought you'd let me explain."

"Explain now." Quinn mimicked her pose.

"No. I'm glad you're safe Quinn, but I really don't desire to speak with you further on the subject. You've made it more than abundantly clear that you see me as a liar and undeserving of even a moment of your time in order to explain."

"Are you seriously having a temper tantrum right now? You lied to me Rachel!"

"And you left me, again. Typical Quinn, things get serious and you can't hack it." Rachel spat.

"Serious? It's a baby for godsake!"

"And I was scared, I was terrified that you would run if I told you and you did!"

"Run? I left, but I came back didn't I? I mean where was I honestly going to go?"

"I don't know. Running's what you do best Quinn, but it's fine, you don't have to run this time because by daylight I'll be gone and it won't be your problem once again."

"I'm not running, ok. Does it look like I'm running? I'm trying here, Rach. You can't just spring a pregnancy on me and not expect a reaction. I was angry and I needed to clear my head. I came back because I know we need to talk." Quinn took a deep breath trying to cool her temper.

"Let me go to sleep, Quinn, I'm tired and I just want to forget my foolhardiness in giving you a second chance." Rachel sighed sliding down to once again lay on the couch and turning on her side.

"Please, Rach...just talk to me...I'm sorry. I'm not leaving, I'm not running...just let me prove it, but you have to be honest with me." Quinn touched her shoulder softly.

"I have a hard time trusting you, Quinn..."

"And I deserve your distrust, but I am trying Rachel and I want to keep trying if you'd allow..." Quinn murmured kissing her temple softly all signs of her earlier anger gone.

"It's Artie's…" Rachel whispered and then she waited for Quinn to explode again, but the blonde surprised her by sitting back on her butt, back against the reclaimed wood table and peering at her, her hazel eyes unblinking.

"…I wanted to start a family and I'm not getting any younger and there were no prospects on the horizon. Artie has been one of my closest friends and my roommate for years and after much persuasion from me he agreed to be my sperm donor. What's so crazy is that the day we came into your café was the same day that I had my insemination." Rachel sat up shaking out her hair.

"And there's nothing going on between you two?" Quinn asked feeling slightly ashamed that she felt jealous.

"No Quinn, there's never been anything between Artie and I."

"And that's why you got nauseous that morning you came to apologize for punching me?"

"Yes, morning sickness…it comes and goes…mostly goes nowadays." Rachel shrugged.

"So, where does this leave us?" Quinn asked tentatively reaching a hand to rest on Rachel's knee.

"I'm still scared Quinn, I'm so afraid that I'll rely on you and you're going to let me down. I can't just think about myself here…"

"I understand, Rach, I do. I know there's nothing I can say as proof that I'm not running, but please don't give up on me. I'm going to mess up, and we're probably both going to get scared and we might say shit that's really fucked up, but I want to prove to you that we're worth it." Quinn leaned forward on her knees and caressed Rachel's tan cheek.

Rachel leaned into Quinn's palm, her doe eyes soft and slightly scared. She searched her companion's hazel eyes trying to find a hint that the blonde would be true to her words. She saw fear in her eyes, but she knew there was probably fear in her own as well. Did she love Quinn? Of course, she always loved Quinn, she would probably always love Quinn, but did loving Quinn make them right? Did loving Quinn make her feel assured in their relationship? No, but she couldn't help the way her heart overruled her head whenever it came to the paler woman and she couldn't help that a part of her knew that she'd always be missing something if she turned away from Quinn now.

"Don't let me down Quinn…" Rachel murmured leaning her forehead against Quinn holding her gaze.

* * *

><p>Okies, so don't think that Rachel's just giving into Quinn, cuz it's not all cut and dry because of this night. Quinn has instilled a since of uncertainty and fear in Rachel and that goes away with actions not words, dig?<p>

Hope you're enjoying!

Ink


	12. Heartbeat

So, I've finally finished moving...thanks for bearing with my irregular posting schedule...much love.

supergirl06: you wanted more Katie she makes an appearance here..

Golden-life: you can forgive and still not forget..just because Rachel forgives Quinn doesn't mean she fully trusts her...

Riverkirby: as always stay tuned...hope ya

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Hold up, wait a minute! You're telling me Wheels knocked up the elf queen?" Santana almost spat out her drink. They were making dinner waiting for Brittany to come home from her work as a layout artist at a small advertising firm, well, Quinn was making dinner, Santana was meddling as usual.<p>

"Don't say it like that! He didn't knock her up; she used him as a sperm donor, there's a difference." Quinn spoke stirring the crab and lobster bisque that she was working on.

"Yeah the difference being a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo. The bottom line is his swimmers swam to her egg and now she's all like fertilized." The Latina shrugged leaning over the pot to see how the meal was going.

"I knew telling you was the wrong thing to do." Quinn huffed pushing the other woman back.

"Hey! I'm helping…"

"No, you're harassing." Quinn growled sticking a finger into the thick simmering soup to test for taste.

"And you're cooking to hide your feelings."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too." Santana singsonged.

"Am not!"

"Are you two arguing again?" Brittany interrupted from the front door as she dropped her keys in the bowl on the side table beside the entrance.

"They're like a married couple except their not cuz you Tana are like beyond married and Quinn has been in love with Rae for like ever." Katie's voice came from the hallway then the younger blonde joined her sister in the living room.

"What are you two arguing about now?" Brittany asked taking a seat at the bar after tossing her jacket over the back of the couch.

"Quinn's cooking to hide her feelings cuz Rachel told her…mhmm mmm mm m" Quinn clutched a hand over the brunette's mouth.

"So, what's up, Q?" Brittany arched a brow.

"Rachel told me Artie artificially inseminated her…."

Brittany's brow crumbled in confusion. "She's going to be a robot too?"

"No…she's pregnant…it just means like she didn't have sex with him just used his sperm…"

"Are her kids going to be like half cyborg now, like oh…like little terminator babies?" Katie piped up taking the seat next to Brittany.

"I don't even know how to answer that…" Quinn rolled her eyes as Santana sniggered beneath her palm.

Santana pushed the blonde's hand away from her face and looked at the almost identical Pierce sisters. "You, know the how doesn't really matter, what matters is that Rachel's pregnant and Quinn's freaking out."

"Q…" Brittany crossed her arms "…you can not break Rachie's heart; you'll never get another chance."

"I'm not! I just…baby…?"

"Hey, it's not so bad we were like all babies once, right? And if the baby is like half cyborg maybe it'll like have lasers!"

"The baby's not going to be half cyborg." Quinn intoned.

"You don't know it might be and if it is half cyborg then you're going to wish you'd listened to me." Katie huffed pouting.

"But, Q," Brittany ignored her sister's outburst, "it's not like Rachel's ever done this before she's as new to this as you are."

"I know, I just…what if Artie starts to want to be the Dad, not just like Uncle Artie."

"Oh, yeah I can just picture the disaster of a relationship that would be, I mean Artie's cool and all but there's no way he'd be able to handle the bundle of psycho that is Berry in a relationship. Besides, they had all this time to get together if they were going to do it don't you think they would have by now?" Santana asked dipping the tip of her finger into the Bisque and tasting it for herself.

"Guess you're right..." Quinn nodded rapping the Latina on the knuckle with her wooden spoon.

"Bitch…" Santana muttered.

"Back at ya." Quinn winked.

"So, it's settled right? You're not going to break Rachel's heart," Quinn nodded, "and she's not having a cyborg, "Katie shrugged then nodded, "and Artie is just Uncle Artie," Santana grinned and nodded, "good, then let's eat because that smells delicious."

* * *

><p>Rachel gripped the paperbag that held her prenatal vitamins and exited the pharmacy. She rubbed her slightly bulging belly and smiled, she was trying to do everything right by this child. She turned in the direction of her and Artie's apartment and started the slow walk back. When she'd left Artie was out at some seminar or another. He'd been gone a lot lately, but she figured maybe she wasn't the best judge since she'd been sort of preoccupied by the baby and Quinn. She kind of hope he would be home when she got there, she kind of missed her roommate and she was excited that she'd been able to hear the baby's heartbeat today. She'd wanted to share with Quinn, but she knew the blonde was still adjusting to the idea that she was in fact pregnant and didn't want to pile anymore on her even if she was ecstatic.<p>

She walked into the building whistling the melody of a song she was currently working on and took the elevator up to the third floor. She walked the pristine, clean hall to the end and pushed in the unlocked door, hearing Artie's music playing softly. She dropped her prescription on the couch and walked deeper into the apartment to Artie's ajar door where the music was filtering from.

"Hey Artie, guess—oh my Barbra!" She screeched slapping a hand over her eyes and stumbling backwards.

"Rachel!" There was a flurry of movement inside the room and Rachel felt the wall and scurried back into the living room and sat shocked on the couch her eyes still tightly closed.

"Um…Rachel…?" Artie's voice interrupted her mind-scrubbing after a few minutes of silence. "Uh…I can explain…"

"I'm sure that it's a truly romantic story…" Rachel looked everywhere but Artie's eyes.

"We had a drunken hook-up after the open mic at Zambooki and we just never stopped…"

Rachel glanced to her right and saw Rinoa sitting in the armchair in only a hunter green button-up that belonged to her roommate. "Well, not as romantic as I had hoped…"

"I'm sorry that you saw my ass Rach…" Rinoa shrugged, but Rachel could tell that she was being completely sincere.

"Completely my fault I should have knocked although to be honest I might have if the door had actually been closed and perhaps if a sock had been tied around it like we use to do when we were still in college…yes I'm re-instituting the sock rule."

"Planning on getting some some time soon?" Rinoa smirked at Rachel's rambling.

"None of your business Rin." The tiny woman's face flushed and she thought back to the night at Quinn's home.

"Oh, I know that face, she's already gotten some." Artie wiggled his eyebrows and the pair chuckled.

"Shut-up." Rachel grumbled.

"So, why were you so excited before?" Artie took mercy on her friend.

"I heard the baby's heartbeat!" Rachel bounced on the couch cushion.

"Wait! You're pregnant? Why didn't I know this? Don't you think it's rather soon for you and the blonde to be having kids?" Rinoa tucked her leg beneath her.

"Again, not that it's any of your business Rin, but it's not Quinn's…I mean we didn't like plan to have a child…I mean, I'd already gotten inseminated before Quinn and I started dating." She left out the part about Artie because she truly didn't know if the pair were serious and felt that it was the paralyzed boy's place to let the singer know.

"Complicated…" Rinoa tapped a finger against her chin.

"Tell me about it." Rachel sighed.

"So, you heard the heartbeat?" Artie interjected trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Oh yes! Artie, it was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."

"Did Quinn go with you?"

"No…I um…I'm trying to give her some space so she can adjust to the whole idea that I'm pregnant…" Rachel nervously played with the hem of her shirt.

"Don't push her, Rachel…she's not running so don't push her away." Artie replied.

"I'm not." Rachel concentrated on her lap.

"Well, make sure you don't start." Artie crossed his arms.

* * *

><p>So?<p>

There will be more Arnoa...lol

Ink


	13. With or Without You

I'm glad ya'll are enjoying this : )

I don't own a glee or their characters...sorry for any mistakes...

Enjoy!

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><p>Quinn wrapped an arm around Rachel's midsection and pulled the smaller woman more tightly against her. Rachel for her part was snoring loudly and had been for the last 3 hours. The smaller brunette was curled around her new buddy; The Pregnancy Pillow: an oblong, curved buckwheat stuffed pillow that supported the other woman's growing midsection, allowing her to sleep more comfortably. Quinn was lucky she'd managed to find a spot on the bed at all, Rachel and that damned pillow had gotten into the habit of taking over the entire bed on her worst nights.<p>

She kissed the other woman softly on her shoulder and stroked her stomach. Rachel had gained a good bit of weight thus far, but the blonde still thought the music exec was gorgeous and now that she knew the woman was pregnant she could recognize the glow surrounding Rachel, she was still filled with trepidation, but she was also grateful she was privy to seeing it.

"Quinn...?" She barely recognized Rachel mumbling into her pillow.

"...your thinking is keeping me awake." The pregnant woman grumbled.

"You were just snoring and completely knocked out." Quinn grumbled back indignantly.

"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't..."

"No, you definitely were."

"Whatever, go to sleep, baby...you have that catering meeting in the morning, remember..." Rachel ended with a stifled yawn.

Quinn wanted to sigh, she had been trying to forget about that meeting. She'd come to the conclusion that she should expand if she wanted to be an equal with Rachel. Sure, right now the Cafe was doing well, but all it would take is one horrible review and it could be all down hill from there.

A part of her knew that she was being irrational, but she didn't know how else to be, Rachel was pregnant, _her_ Rachel, was pregnant. At the beginning of the year she'd only been thinking about getting her business off the ground and then about pouring money into fixing up the farmhouse. She'd only thought of Rachel longingly, as something that could, but probably never would happen. Now it was happening but there were all these obstacles that she hadn't counted on...okay, maybe just one obstacle, a baby? What the Fuck? It wasn't like Rachel was some withering starlet, she wasn't even thirty! How had she just given up on finding someone and starting a family with them? Not that she wanted Rachel to have settled down with anyone else, but she was gorgeous and smart, she could have had anyone...could have already taken this step with someone else...married that someone else and had kids. She didn't understand why Rachel would want to have a child alone.

"Rachel?" She whispered into the darkness.

"Mhmm?"

"Whatmadeyouwanttogetpregnant?" She rushed out anxiously.

"Hmm?" Rachel turned in her arms and looked at her with bleary eyed confusion.

"Why'd you decide to have a baby?"

"I already told you why."

"I know, it just...you're the total package, Rach, you could have started a family long ago...why didn't you?"

"You really want to have this conversation at 2am, Quinn?" Rachel grumbled sitting up and flicking on the light.

"I dunno...it was on my mind..." Quin shrugged also sitting up.

Rachel sighed. "At first, I just didn't care...I concentrated on my craft and then concentrated on the label. I dated a little, but I was frankly afraid of getting too serious with anyone...I accomplished everything I wanted to and more and then I don't know I never met anyone special enough to want to share my life with, but I still want-wanted to have kids. I did a little research..." Quinn coughed "...okay a lot of research, and decided that with or without a partner, I could do this, I wanted to do this. I want to raise a child."

Quinn stared at Rachel and although the woman had already told her the basics of why she'd wanted to get inseminated hearing her explain in detail with such passion lacing her voice made it infinitely more real for her. Rachel would have this child and raise him or her with or without her. It was up to her to insure that she proved that she deserved to be a part of both of their lives.

"Can we go to sleep now, for real?" Rachel's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry I kept you up…" Quinn smiled planting a kiss on the brunette's temple.

"You should be, it's very important that I get my beauty rest." Rachel slunk back down and Quinn did as well. Rachel nestled into her front, allowing the taller woman to cradle her.

"Mmm…and her I was thinking you couldn't get more gorgeous…" Quinn whispered as Rachel flicked off the light.

"Sweet talker…go to sleep." Rachel grasped her hand and circled it around her growing stomach.

_I can do this._ Quinn thought tightening her hold on the smaller woman. _I want to do this._ She lightly kissed the base of Rachel's neck. _ I have to do this, it's my only chance..._

* * *

><p>Yes, it's short...yes I kno, I kno, I kno...I just wanted you all to get more of a glimpse inside Quinn's thoughts. Still hope you like...<p>

Ink


	14. Trois

Haha! RiverKirby stay outta my head! You have guessed a bunch of stuff across my stories and it's just creepy... ;)

I'm glad you all like this and anything else I'm writing or have written. You guys are great!

I don't own a thing to do with Glee.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Quinn slumped on the park bench with a very audible gulp. Staring unblinking out across the playground her eyes lost focus. She didn't see the children. She didn't hear the honking horns or the city. She didn't feel the shift in the bench as a young mother took the space next to her. All she could hear was the repetition of the doctor's words and the vision of the ultrasound image.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Quinn smiled gently down at Rachel's prone body. The pregnant woman's rapidly growing belly was protruding from between her rolled up maternity blouse and the stretchy band of her maternity pants. The brunette squeezed her hand. Rachel had been reluctant to allow her to accompany her on this visit. She understood, she was trying not to force herself too much into the role of second parent, all the while balancing being a supportive girlfriend. She knew that Rachel was still afraid of her. Well, not afraid of her so much as afraid of trusting her completely…afraid that she would just up and run. She was trying to prove that she wasn't going anywhere by taking whatever Rachel was giving. She knew that the only real reason that she was allowed to come was because Artie had already had plans with Rinoa, it was Mercedes' anniversary and Kurt was on a talent scouting trip. It kind of hurt that she was the last choice, but again she understood why and was still aiming to change her position. <em>

"_Hello Ms. Berry and who is this lovely young woman?" The grey-haired doctor greeted them as he entered and shut the door behind him. _

"_Quinn Fabray…the girlfriend…?" Quinn hated how the end came out like a question. _

"_Well, welcome Ms. Fabray, I'm Doctor Farley and today we're going to get a picture of Baby Berry and hear the heartbeat in surround sound." The man smiled genuinely at her then looked down at Rachel, "How have you been, Rachel?" _

"_Morning sickness has been giving me some trouble. I thought it was gone, but it's been coming back with a vengeance." The small brunette shrugged. _

"_Have you been keeping down the pre-natal vitamins?" She nodded._

"_Well, don't worry about it, some women have morning sickness throughout the entirety of their pregnancy." _

"_That's gotta suck." Quinn groaned. She witnessed Rachel's morning sickness more than once she didn't wish that amount of vomit on even Sue Sylvester. _

"_I imagine it does." He replied offhandedly as the door opened and a young woman walked in pushing a cart full of machinery. _

"_Hey, I'm Nina….Hey! Aren't you Rachel Berry? I saw you off Broadway last year, you were awesome!" The woman blushed, "I mean, um…I'm you're Ultrasound Technician." _

_Rachel smiled widely. "Hello, Nina."_

"_So, brace yourself because the gel is kind of cool." The woman fussed with some knobs and switches on the machine and then reached on the second shelf and came back with a small bottle. _

_Quinn watched Rachel's face grimace as the gel was squirted on her belly and Nina grabbed the transducer (so sue her she'd done some research…okay a lot of research) and eased it around the circumference of the brunette's belly. _

"_So," Nina spoke up as an image showed up on the screen, "let's see….hmmm…" The room was quiet as she adjusted the sound on the machine then they were surrounded by a steady beating. It wasn't until the third or so beat that Quinn realized that it wasn't just one rhythm._

"_What is that?" She asked before she had a chance to stop herself._

"_Curious…." Dr. Farley murmured "…Nina let's see if we can get a visual." Nina moved the transducer toe the middle of Rachel's stomach and Quinn watched as a blob came into sight._

"_Oh my god…" Rachel gasped gripping her hand as the blob moved then moved again._

"_Ms. Berry…the reason you're baby's heartbeat sounds like that is that you're not just having one baby, you're having three…" Nina said and Quinn glanced from the screen to the technician to Rachel and then back at the screen. She felt faint, but somehow kept herself upright. _

"_Triplets?" Rachel had tears in her eyes._

"_Yes," Nina moved closer to the screen and circled one figure then another and finally a third, "here, here and here. I'd say at least two of them are boys, I can't really get a good image of the last one." _

"_How did that happen?" Rachel breathed out._

_Dr. Farley shrugged and smiled. "I am of the belief that there's nothing that you do that is of the small scale, Rachel." _

"_He's right about that…" Quinn mumbled and received a light smack on the thigh from the diva. _

"_Wow…"_

"_Yeah, wow, Baby..." Quinn smiled nervously._

* * *

><p>Quinn had been rather quiet after they'd left the hospital. She was excited but also scared; one baby was one thing, but three? Three? She didn't even understand how Rachel was so cool about it, it wasn't even her pregnancy and she was shitting bricks.<p>

When they'd gotten back to Rachel and Artie's apartment Rachel had been craving tofrutti and almond butter neither of which she had so she'd volunteered to run down to the store and get some. Somehow she'd gotten sidetracked by her thoughts and ended up where she was now: sitting on the edge of this park, trying not to have a panic attack.

"Hey are you alright?" The redhead mother next to her asked scooting away slightly.

"Triplets…"

"You're having triplets?" The woman looked at her flat stomach skeptically.

"My girlfriend, Rachel."

"Oh, congratulations. We were lucky just to have our one." The woman glanced at the playground.

"Which is yours?"

"The little boy on the swing, Evan, he's a handful sometimes and boy do you ever have your work cut out for you, but not a day goes by that I regret him." She smiled softly and suddenly Quinn didn't want to be on that park bench any longer, she had somewhere else she was needed.

"Thanks." She grinned, standing and grabbing her plastic bag by the handle and strolling back towards Rachel's apartment.

* * *

><p>Rachel lay down on her side on her couch. <em>Triplets.<em> She thought darkly, she would be having triplets. She was in no way unhappy with the news, but she did feel it was rather ironic that even in pregnancy she was overachieving.

She dialed Noah's number and set her iphone up so that she could see him and he could see her. She needed to talk and Quinn had gone out to get her, her craving. She wondered what the blonde was thinking, what she'd thought when she'd heard the Technician confirm that she was having triplets. Worry gnawed at her; _what if she ran…what if she was running now?_

"Why are you eating you're bottom lip, Jewbabe?" Noah's deep voice brought her from her thoughts.

"Hmm…oh, Noah, you'll never guess." She smiled tucking her arm under her head.

"Well you've gotta give me more of a hint than that." He chuckled.

"I'mhavingtriplets." She mumbled.

"Alright, now rewind and slow it down."

"I'm having triplets." She repeated.

"Alright, Abrams!" He whooped bouncing around the screen, "Who knew that he had it in him!"

"Really, Noah?" She rolled her eyes tempted to hang up on the man.

"Really, even I only rolled double."

"I find myself wondering why I even called you." She sighed.

He shrugged but regained his composure. "So, you got three for the price of one, instant family, Rach. You took Quinn with you right?" She nodded and he continued. "Well, how did she react?"

"She was rather taciturn on the ride home and she'd gone for my craving…what if she runs, Noah? She never signed on for a child to begin with, but Triplets…" She frowned.

"Hey, Jewbabe, don't make assumptions about Q, alright…she might surprise you." He shrugged again and she heard the door open behind her.

"Hey Rae, we've got Tofrutti, Almond Butter and those Vegan Sesame candies you've become addicted to." Quinn called and she heard the other woman's footsteps come closer.  
>"Q!" Noah screamed and Rachel rolled her eyes again at the man's antics.<p>

"Hey Puckerman, how's the family?" The blonde sat the bag down next to the phone then nudged Rachel so she sat up. Quinn sat down and then indicated for Rachel to lay her head in her lap.

"Excellent…" He started then turned away from the phone and started screaming, "shit, I've gotta go…Noah Puckerman, Junior! Get your hands off that vase!" There was a crash then the phone hung up.

"Are you ready for that?" Quinn laughed fingers combing through the divas hair.

"Controlled chaos." Rachel smiled closing her eyes, enjoying the feel of Quinn's massaging fingers.

"So, Artie's shooting out super sperm." Quinn laughed again and Rachel turned her head and bit her lightly on the thigh.

Rachel slowly turned her body so her face was looking up. Quinn bowed her head so hazel eyes met brown and smiled the lines near her eyes crinkling in mirth. Maybe Quinn wasn't ready, she wasn't completely either, but she hadn't run. She could have been one of those stories: gone out to the "store" and not seen of heard of for years. She needed to trust in Quinn…she wanted to, but there was a niggling voice of doubt, a voice that sounded distinctly like her at seventeen that wouldn't let go of her pessimism.

"Rae…" Quinn 's palm touched her cheek "…I love you." She felt Quinn's other palm flatten on her stomach and for a moment that nagging voice was quieted.

* * *

><p>Awwwww...<p>

Who wants that other baby to be a girl? boy? I've got the boys' names...that third kid is still kinda in the air.

More Artie/Rinoa next chap...and Katie...mhmmm...

Ink


	15. Go Easy

Sorry...this is short and late. All I can say is I'm going to try to post something significantly longer next...it's been a rough one...

I own mistakes, not glee...

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"See," Quinn pointed at a circled portion of the grainy black and white photograph, "that's Liam and that's" She pointed to another area of the photo, "Abram and that's little question mark." Quinn gushed showing Brittany, Santana and Katie the pictures from Rachel's ultrasound.<p>

"Question mark? What kind of name is that, Q?" Katie piped up from where she was seated.

"The kind of name when you don't know what you're having." Santana answered.

"Of course Rachel's having a baby, duh, Sanny." Brittany intoned nudging her girlfriend in the side.

"Three babies." Quinn corrected giggling.

"I know, I mean she doesn't know the sex..."

"Babies are too young for sex..."

"Urgh! I mean she doesn't know if it's a boy or a girl, Britts."

"Or a cyborg!"

"We're not doing this again, Kat, she's not having any cyborg babies." Quinn sighed shaking her head.

"Could be…" Katie grumbled and the other three women ignored her.

"So, look at you, Q, acting like the proud papa." Santana said with a bark of laughter.

"So…"

"So, I mean what does it mean? Are we like entering co-parenting land here? Are those wedding bells I hear?"

"Only if they're yours…we've only been dating a few months I don't want to move any faster that we already are," Quinn shrugged, "but to be with Rachel is to be with her kids and I—I just want to be with Rachel and I'm actually kind of growing excited about the kids."

"Sap." Santana groaned and Brittany hit her lightly on the arm.

"When are you guys gonna get married?" Katie asked leaning forward.

"Yeah San?" Quinn quipped when she noticed how red her friend's face had turned.

"When we're ready…"

"Who's not ready? Cuz B already knows the ring she wants, right B?" The younger Pierce turned her blue eyes on her sister for confirmation.

"Kat! That was suppose to be a secret, you're a bad as Lord Tubbington, always telling people my secrets!"

"Wait you've looked at rings? I thought we agreed that we were going to wait…"

"Wait? Until…what? When?" Brittany huffed crossing her arms.

"Until we're ready…"

"You mean until, you're ready. Whatever, I don't think we should talk about this anymore it just makes me sad." The blonde frowned glancing into her lap.

"Um…yeah…I'm…I'm going to go to the café and…uh…yeah…you should come too, Kat…" Quinn rose grabbed the younger woman's arm and basically drug her from the tension filled apartment.

* * *

><p>Rinoa pushed Artie's chair around the curving sidewalk of Central Park. It was a beautiful crisp fall day and they had spent it outdoors enjoying it. She knew the man in front of her could propel himself, but she liked doing it for him occasionally, somehow it made her feel closer to him in a weird way.<p>

"So, I think I should tell you something, Rin…"Artie spoke up and she thought she maybe knew what he wanted to discuss.

"Ok, go on…"

"It's about Rachel…"

"You're the father of her babies?" She saved him the trouble of stumbling through what was sure to be an awkward confession.

"How did you...? Yes…" He turned his head to glance back at her and she smiled down at him.

"I mean who else could it have been? It's Rach for Godsake she's not gonna get some stranger to father her kid…kids…you're the most likely candidate."

"How…how does it make you feel?"

"Should I feel some type of way about all this?" She arched a fine eyebrow.

"I dunno…I mean, not if you don't want to…?" Brows scrunched over blue eyes.

Rinoa chuckled lightly as they continued their stroll. She trailed her fingers through his brown hair easily and hummed the melody of a song she was working on.

"You know, if you're going to ask me to be your girlfriend there are easier ways then thinking so hard that your head explodes. I mean what's the worst that could happen, I say no?" She smirked.

"Well, yeah…" He mumbled.

She stopped pushing him and bent down to whisper in his ear. "Right now you're so delightfully clueless…."

Artie's face started to heat up. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and then straightened and resumed her pushing.

* * *

><p>Rachel leaned back in her office chair and rubbed her rounded belly. She smiled widely and popped a piece of vegan peanut butter slattered celery into her mouth. She had spent almost half the work day thinking about her children or touching her stomach in some way. She knew that she had work to get done that she was suppose to be working on the lyrics that Rinoa had dropped off last night before she'd left for a movie with Artie, but she couldn't seem to concentrate or care. She'd felt a slight stirring in her stomach on the taxi ride to work and she'd been working all day to try and feel it again, but the kids were already conspiring against her. She smirked and shook her head slightly at her thoughts.<p>

"Liam, Abram, and Baby3 who I kinda hope is a girl can you just go easy on your Mom here? I'm scared…I was scared when it was just one of you, but three is…whew…I…I love you, tremendously…." Her smiled wavered slightly, but then she felt a slight pushing on her right side followed by one on the left and then another that truthfully made her have to use the bathroom, but also made her smile strengthen and widen to fill her face.

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><p>It made me smile, hope it made you smile too :) even though it's not Faberry focused...<p>

Ink


	16. Puckasaurus

This is shorter than expected, but we're moving forward...

I don't own glee...

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Quinn struggled quell the slight bit of jealousy she felt a Puck enveloped Rachel into a huge hug swinging the pregnant woman around. She knew instinctively that there wasn't anything between the pair. Puck was married to Lauren (no matter how little sense that made to her) and Rachel loved her. There had never been a Puck and Rachel…well there had been but they were like eight at the time and it didn't count because it had only lasted a fourth of July weekend due to Puck goosing Rachel's cousin. Still, the elation that lit her girlfriend's face at the sight of the formerly mohawked man made her frown slightly.<p>

Rachel was entering her third trimester and Doctor Farley was almost certain that the triplets weren't going to make it to term. Rachel had already taken a sort of maternity leave from Divas, Inc. _Sort of _meaning that she no longer over saw the Open Mics and only worked twice a week and most of that was from home. They'd had a huge argument about that arrangement. Rachel had felt like she was being coddled and she hadn't liked it one bit and Quinn had determinedly admitted that she was in fact being coddled and she might as well get used to it. Talk about the wrong thing to say, it had taken both Mercedes and Artie to calm the brunette down and get her to the point where she understood that Quinn was just worried about her and the babies and being slightly overprotective.

Quinn ran fingers through her hair and waited for the pair to reach her. She'd managed to convince Lauren to allow her husband to come to New York to basically be Rachel's slave when she and the others had to work. Lauren had particularly been amused at Puck as Rachel's slave; she knew how demanding the small woman could be and had been completely excited at the prospect.

Quinn knew that sitting around the house wasn't the diva's style, but Dr. Farley had said take it easy and that's exactly what Quinn intended for her to do even if she had to tie her down.

"Hey, Q." Puck smiled hugging the blonde and disrupting her thoughts of the perfect knots to use in case she needed to restrain Rachel.

"Puckerman, I see the ball and chain let you escape." She smirked when he released her.

"Yeah it was weird how easily she said yes…" He shrugged easily and grabbed the pull handle of hiss suitcase.

"Yeah, weird…" Quinn chuckled to herself threading her fingers with Rachel's and leading them towards the exit.

* * *

><p>"Jesus, Q, you tricked me!" Puck yelled at her later that week when she arrived at Rachel and Artie's place after closing up the café. The man looked positively worn out. He had a smear of some sauce across his left cheek and was breathing hard.<p>

"Evening, Puck." Quinn replied sweetly moving past him and into the living room where Rachel was wrapped on the couch watching some old romantic comedy with a dopey smile on her face.

"Hey, baby." Quinn leaned down to kiss the woman lightly and smiled when Rachel murmured her own hello against her lips.

"How was you day?" She prompted her girlfriend to sit up and then sat down with the brunette's head in her lap.

"Boring…and I think Noah's angry with me." Rachel mumbled eyes still focused on the tv screen.

"Why would he be angry with you?" Quinn brushed her fingers through brown locks.

"Because I'm hormonal and prone to being slightly demanding and I think today I finally hit his limit." Rachel sniffled.

"That right, Puckerman, are you at your limit?" Quinn chuckled.

"Aww Jew babe don't like cry okay, everything's all good…nothing the Puckster can't handle." He came around the couch to crouch in front of Rachel.

"I know I'm just a big, fat wreck…" Rachel moaned clutching at Quinn's kneecap.

"Rach, you're not fat and you're not a wreck and Puck adores you…crazy demands and all," Quinn kissed just below the diva's ear, "right Puck?"

"Of course I do. Hey, when Lauren was pregnant with the twins she had me running around all day and night. She was way harder to handle than you are and she was violent…promise." He shrugged with a lopsided smile.

"On time she sent me out for three pizzas and when I brought them back I found her crying in my recliner and then when I went to hug her she demanded that I never touch her again because it was my fault that she was possessed by my seed." He and Quinn laughed and then Rachel finally joined in, perfectly able to imagine a pregnant and mean Zizes.

"And there was the time she threw a vase at me. I thought buying her flowers would be a romantic gesture and make her smile, but all it did was manage to piss her off and she goes and lobs the vase at me flowers and all." He shrugged again and Rachel howled with laughter hoping that she never reached that point in her pregnancy where she was so hormonally imbalanced that she began to throw things.

"I'm a saint in comparison." Rachel smiled wiping her eyes.

"I wouldn't say saint…" Quinn trailed off and received a slap on the knee from her girlfriend "…see already starting to become violent."

"I am not violent." Rachel huffed pouting.

"Clue, Jewbabe, the pout only works if she can see it." Puck replied with a smirk rising and leaving the duo alone.

"Quinn..?" Rachel spoke barely above a whisper when she was sure the man was gone.

"Hmm?" The blonde replied threading her fingers through her girlfriend's bangs.

"I'm scared..."

Quinn kissed the side of the other woman's head again. "Tell me about it."

"I'm loud and annoying and I just know I'm going to be as overprotective as my Daddy...what if I become one of those big-haired showbiz moms."

"Well," Quinn paused thoughtfully, "you are loud..." Rachel smacked her knee again "and this violent streak you're developing isn't helping at all, but you also one of the most dedicated and caring people I know so I think these kids are going to be super spoiled and completely happy. Besides if you start breaking out the hairspray I'm pretty sure Santana will set your hair on fire..."

"She would wouldn't she." Rachel twisted so that she was facing upwards and Quinn leaned over and kissed the smaller woman.

"Yeah, but you know I wouldn't let anything happen to you...any of you." Quinn's smile widened when she felt a corresponding kick underneath the palm that had been resting on Rachel's stomach.

"Apparently, they know..." Rachel smiled easily, snuggling into the warmth of Quinn's torso and allowing her fears to ease away.

* * *

><p>So sweet moments and got Puck to NYC just in time for the incoming drama and angst...<p>

Ink


	17. Broken

So...here's where the drama starts...

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Rachel leaned forward on her palm listening intently as Quinn excitedly told her about her second meeting with some hotels that were interested in her catering finger foods for some upcoming conferences. She was so happy for the blonde. She knew that Quinn felt some sort of pressure to provide, bit she didn't know how to explain to the blonde that everything was okay, that everything was going to be okay. Instead she basked in the other woman's excitement.<p>

"Man, you should have seen them Rach, they were so impressed with me."

"Why wouldn't they, darling? You're quite impressive." Rachel smiled easily popping a piece of broccoli in her mouth.

"I'm so happy."

"I'm so hap-"

"Hey, Q, I thought that was you, when the girls were saying there was some devastatingly gorgeous blonde out here I just had to see for myself, but I in no way even hoped that it would be you." A striking readhead bumped Quinn's side.

"Delilah?" Quinn looked shaken.

"In the flesh, how have you been, Q?" The woman gave her a toothy grin.

"G-Good. Um…this…this is Delilah, and this is my..my..Rachel." Quinn stammered.

"Whoa! She's huge!"

"I'm pregnant with triplets, you…"

"Triplets, whoa Q, the last time I saw you didn't seem like you were ready to settle down or have a whole litter." The redhead chuckled.

"Things change, Delilah…people change." Quinn replied quietly.

"Not that much, Q. You come back an see me when you stop wanting to play, Mommy." The Redhead winked and squeezed Quinn's shoulder before sauntering away.

Quinn shook her head running fingers through her blonde hair and sighed. Of all the places to run into an ex. When she looked back up it was just in time to watch Rachel storm away from the table.

"Shit." She hopped up throwing some bills across the table and following the irate woman. "Rachel? Rachel!"

* * *

><p>"Rachel! Slow down, you know the Doc wouldn't want you exerting yourself like this." Quinn called trying to catch up to the pregnant woman who was surprisingly fast as she stormed down the sidewalk.<p>

"Leave me alone Quinn."

"No. I'm worried about you."

"Well, don't be, I was fine the first time you left and I'll be fine this time as well." Rachel turned and waved down a cab holding the door open with slender fingers.

"Left? I'm not leaving Rachel." Quinn sighed as she finally came with in touching distance from the brunette.

"Aren't you? Because I can tell you right now that I'm not in any way okay with the idea of sharing you with that..that…that harlot!" Rachel replied stomping her foot.

"I don't want her."

"Seemed like you did to me."

"What are you even talking about, Rachel, I basically dismissed her."

"Basically? You blushed and hemmed and hawed. It doesn't matter anyways, Quinn, you were going to leave eventually. I mean these aren't even your children. We didn't plan this together, I planned this alone. I'm suppose to do this alone. I'm just too stupid. To forgiving..."

"Are you fucking serious? I've been breaking my back to be a part of this, to show you that I'm staying. What difference does it make how much I try to be there if you only believe I'm going to leave? If you don't trust me?" Quinn's face was hot with anger.

"I can't." Rachel wiped tears from her cheek.

Quinn felt like her heart was breaking. "Please, Rae, don't do this…"

Rachel's bottom lip quivered and she shook her head. "I can't, I can't do this Quinn…I just, I just can't…." The diva turned on her heel and hopped into the awaiting cab.

* * *

><p>Quinn leaned against the back of the couch feeling like a zombie. All of her felt numb. She couldn't believe what had transpired on the sidewalk with Rachel. Had Rachel really broken up with her? She'd thought that if she could just show the brunette that she had no intentions of leaving that she'd believe her. She'd thought they'd gotten over the distrust. She'd begun to want their eventual family more than just about anything.<p>

"Q? Q! Q!" Brittany's bubbly voice came from behind her followed by footsteps.

"Hey Britt." Quinn rubbed at her eyes not turning to face the other woman.

"Q! Santana and I are getting mar-rie-d." Brittany's excited voice faltered a she turned the corner of the couch and saw Quinn's tear streaked face.

"Oh, Q…what happened?" The former dancer took a seat next to her near catatonic friend and folded her into her long arms. "Just, tell me what happened...i'm sure we can fix it..."

* * *

><p>"Rachel? Rachel? Jewbabe?" Puck asked quietly from the doorway of the diva's darkened room. He was only answered with a grouping of sniffles.<p>

"Jewbabe? What happened….? Whose head do I have to bust open?" He asked creeping closer to the bed.

"Noah…" She whispered brokenly.

He heaved out a sigh and crawled on top of the covers behind his best friend. "Hey, it's alright, Babe, I've got you." He brushed a large hand through her hair. "I've got you…"

* * *

><p>So? Thoughts? concerns?<p>

Already know it's short...moving on...

Ink


	18. Leaving Her First

Short, but moving forward...

I own mistakes, not Glee...

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Quinn growled and threw the wooden mixing spoon across her kitchen. This damn cheesy fudge ball recipe wasn't working at all. She gripped the counter surging with frustration. Nothing had been going right at all. She had to get this recipe right for Santana and Brittany's engagement dinner this weekend, but they kept coming out too salty.<p>

"Hey Q, don't take your anger out on the spoon, she's mixing the best she can." Katie's voice came from behind her.

"Kat, if you're back here who's manning the register?" Quinn asked tersely clenching her eyes shut.

"Wo-manning." Katie corrected and Quinn groaned.

"Go away, Kat."

"But, I can help Q, I have a great idea that I know B will love!"

"Go away, Kat!" Quinn roared and the younger blonde sniffled and raced from the kitchen leaving the door swinging angrily.

"Shit..." Quinn sighed running fingers through her hair.

"Nice going, Q, you've got a gift for making girls cry."

"I'm not in the mood Mercedes." Quinn growled.

"You're not in the mood? I haven't been able to get in the mood since you two broke up, Diva has been calling me crying like every night. Puck's got a crick in his neck from sleeping and acting as her back up preg-go pillow. You weren't suppose to make her cry. All I asked you to do was not hurt her, Q, shit."

"I didn't do anything."

"Don't give me that bull."

"Look, I'm sorry you're being inconvenienced or whatever, but this isn't any of your concern, Mercedes."

"Oh, it most definitely is my concern, that's my girl and she's hurting..."

"So am I!" Quinn screeched reaching the end of her rope. "I'm hurting too. I didn't break up with Rachel, she left me. She can't trust me. I ruined my chances with her when we were eighteen and apparently I don't get another."

"I-I..."

"You just assumed it was me, which is understandable, I know how much I fucked up, trust me I know..."

"..."

Quinn wiped at her eyes feeling silly and embarrassed. She hadn't meant to breakdown especially not in front of Mercedes who had threatened her more times than she could count.

"Quinn...I..." The other woman stammered.

"Could you just leave, Mercedes? I got to figure this recipe out and eventually find Katie and grovel at her feet." Quinn sighed again.

"Q, don't give up on her..." Mercedes whispered and then she was gone just as quickly as she'd appeared.

* * *

><p>"Don't be stupid, Rae, why'dja break-up with her if you're all in love." Rinoa groaned from Rachel and Artie's kitchen where she was making sandwiches.<p>

"It's not enough..."

"For fucksake, if love ain't enough we're all screwed."

"She's just going to leave. She'll find a reason and she'll leave."

"So, you're psychic now, eh? What's tomorrow's lotto numbers?"

"It's not funny, Rinoa. What do you care anyways? I'll be fine. I planned on doing this alone anyways."

"I care because you're unhappy and I hate to see you unhappy, Rae, especially when you don't have to be."

"I'm fine." Rachel shrugged crossing her arms stubbornly.

Rinoa sighed again grabbing the plate of sandwiches and flopped down next to the diva. "But, you're not..."

"I-" Her retort was cut off by the slamming of their front door.

"Why didn't you tell me that you broke up with her!" Mercedes voice boomed.

"What?" Rachel turned to look at her friend.

"You broke up with Quinn, why didn't you say that..." Mercedes ranted pacing.

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it does. I went there thinking she broke your heart again and you broke hers..."

"You...what? It's not you're place to confront Quinn, Mercedes." Rachel wagged a finger at her business partner and friend.

"It is when I explicitly told her not to hurt you again and thought she had."

"While, I thank you for being protective it's not necessary...I can take care of myself."

"Oh, is that what you call yourself doing? Taking care of yourself by breaking up with the girl you've been head over heels for since you were like fourteen?"

Rachel shrugged in response.

"She's a wreck, Rachel, don't you care?"

"She'll be alright , we're not made for each other. I had plans and I shouldn't shift them just because Quinn decided that she wants to be a part of my life for now. What about later?"

"I takes a lot for me to say this because I've definitely never been Quinn's biggest fan, but she didn't look like she was going anywhere to me." Merceds shrugged flopping down on the other side of Rachel.

"Yet."

"Mama, if you thought all she was gonna do is leave why'd you even start anything with her again?" Mercedes head rocked.

"I-I..."

"Cuz you love that girl and she loves you, but ya'll are too special to work this shit out for yourselves."

_Knock Knock Knock_. Rinoa rose from where she sat watching the intense interaction between the other women. She opened the door wide and had to take a step back as a stroller was pushed into the foyer.

"Delivery for Quinn Fabray or Rachel Berry?" The delivery guy asked gum popping.

"I'm Rachel. What's all this?" Rachel asked hoisting herself up and waddling to the door.

"Stroller." He answered thrusting the clipboard at the pregnant woman.

"I can very well see that. Where did it come from?" Rachel signed the sheet.

"Custom-made. A-uh Quinn Fabray came in a few weeks back and had the girls rig this up fer your pups." Rachel had to hold herself back from pouncing on the man when he called her unborn children "pups".

"I suggest you go away now, Charmer, unless you want an irate pregnant woman all on your shit." Rinoa spoke calmly flipping the clipboard at the delivery man and slamming the door closed.

Mercedes rose and joined them by the front door. She looked over the craftsmanship running her fingers along the cushions and the metalwork. "Oh, yeah she was definitely not planning on sticking around..." She rolled her eyes as her fingers lingered on the scroll-work of an F and B.

* * *

><p>So?<p>

Ink


	19. Who's Tardy for the Party?

Alrighty, here we go...

Happy Holidays!

Enjoy!

I don't own Glee...

* * *

><p>Rachel quietly snuck into the back of the banquet hall edging herself between Mercedes and her husband and behind Noah. She had debated long and hard about even coming to Santana and Brittany's engagement dinner, but she knew how hurt the blonde would have been if she hadn't shown up and an unhappy Brittany lead to an irate and violent Santana. The Latina might not hit a pregnant woman, but Rachel wouldn't be pregnant forever.<p>

She looked around the packed room pretending to be interested in seeing who all had come, when truthfully she was only looking for one person. She found the blonde in question seated next to Santana chuckling with her friend. Rachel watched her longingly feeling unable to do anything about the feeling in her chest.

"You should just go and talk to her." Noah whispered in her ear startling her from her staring.

"No, she's better without me and all my baggage…." Rachel bowed her head shaking it from side to side "…she left after high school and look how good her life became. I come back into her life for a few months and screw it all up. She was right to leave in the first place."

"Really Rach? Pity party for one." Mercedes joined the conversation with a roll of her eyes.

"Can we just enjoy Santana and Brittany's night and drop this?" Rachel replied tersely.

"You can't hide from her forever, Rach…"

"Drop it, Noah."

"I'm just saying…"

"Drop it."

"Fine." He replied adopting the same belligerent stance as the small woman.

"Fine ." She huffed back though she knew it was childish and slid away from him and over to where the table was lined with hor'd'oeuvres.

"I wouldn't eat that." She turned to find Brittany at her side as she was picking over the finger foods.

"Hey, Brittany, Ha-Happy Engagement?" Rachel replied unsure of the proper congratulatory wording.

"It would be, but I'm still upset with you because Q, is sad and you weren't s'pose to make Q sad, Rachy…" The blonde pouted and if possible Rachel felt worse than before.

"I—uh—"

"I get it. Quinn hurt you and now you hurt her. Sometimes, Sanny hurts me, but then she apologizes and looks at me that way she does and it makes things better and we can go back to having sexy time. You should do that."

"Um…I don't think that'll work this time…"

"Why not? It's not like Q, doesn't wanna still have sexy time with you."

"Yeah, but I messed up…"

"Uh, duh, but like Quinn she like screwed it all up when she left after graduation, right?" Rachel nodded.

"And you still forgave her?"

"I tried to…"

"You did…you forgave her cuz you love her, you just couldn't forget how bad she hurt you." Brittany shrugged like what she was saying was the most obvious thing in the world. "Quinn will do the same thing…"

"That's a lot of baggage to bring a baby into, much less three babies." Rachel sighed twisting a finger in her brown locks anxiously.

"Baggage? Are you going somewhere?

"No, I meant…I was just…" Rachel let out a puff of air "I just don't know."

"Well, I do." Brittany smiled widely and then twisted her torso away from the singer. "Q! Q! Come over here!"

"Britt-Brittany, no…" Brunette whispered trying to hide herself behind the taller woman.

"What's up Britt?" She heard Quinn's voice and felt rooted in her hiding spot behind the dancer.

Brittany looked up at the ceiling. "Noth-thing? But you two need to talk." She reached behind her and pushed Rachel into Quinn and then hurried off.

"Rachel?" Quinn caught her, holding the diva away from her by the shoulders.

"Yeah, uh…sorry. I didn't know she was going to do that…I just. Brittany's my friend and well she really wanted me to come and I was trying not to get in your way, but then she started talking and then she was screaming out your name and now you're here and I'm just…I'm just gonna go…" Rachel turned to walk away, trying to do so as dignified as possible after her ramble.

"So, now you're just going to run away?" Quinn asked quietly halting her before she disappeared in the crowd.

Rachel bowed her head, her chin trembling. She didn't have an answer. A part of her was screaming at her to cut her losses and just leave. She had a plan and she could work with that plan. The bigger part of her though was telling her to turn around and work with Quinn, because if she was honest she'd admit that_ it_ had always been Quinn. _It_ was probably always going to be Quinn.

She turned and looked up into clear hazel eyes. Opening her mouth she prepared to speak, but before she had a chance to voice any of her feelings a sharp sting ripped through her abdomen. She felt a flood of wetness trickle down her legs.

"The babies…" She grimaced her legs almost buckling from the sudden pain.

* * *

><p>Oh-no...<p>

Ink


	20. Special Delivery

Sorry this took so long and Happy New Year!

I don't own Glee or The Back-Up Plan, but I do own any mistakes...

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>It only took a few moments before Puck was scooping the tiny diva up and was running with her bridal style out of the hall with Quinn, Brittany, Santana, and Mercedes following closely behind them.<p>

"We can take my car, it's the fastest." Santana spoke as she simultaneously waved over the valet.

"No my rental is bigger we can all fit in it." Puck grunted adjusting the quietly groaning woman in his arms.

"We don't need to all fit, you need to get there fast." The Latina argued.

"Just back off for once, Satan."

"You stop being a bonehead and I will."

"Are you serious? Both of you shut-up! We're taking Puck's car. Mercedes you drive. Puck I'm going to get in you're going to lay Rachel's head in my lap then get in the passenger seat..."

"I want to come too..." Brittany stepped forward as the valet raced off to grab Puck's rental.

"What about the party? You two should stay, enjoy your night, it's probably nothing." Quinn lied, knowing that whatever was happening it wasn't nothing, but also knowing that Rachel would hate if she ruined the two women's night.

"It is so something...Rachy's having the babies so let's go!" The taller blonde enthused and Quinn looked at her other best friend.

"You heard the woman, Q, let's go!" Santana repeated.

Quinn nodded resolutely just as the valet arrived with the car. Mercedes took the driver seat from the young man. Quinn got into th back seat and waited until Puck settled the pregnant woman with her head in the blonde's lap. Somehow Brittany and Santana managed to squeeze in next to her with Rachel's legs resting across their laps.

"I'm sorry I'm being so much trouble..." Rachel apologized lowly.

"Hey," Quinn brushed strands of brown hair behind her ear, "don't apologize, just hold on, ok?"

"Mhmm.." Rachel nodded as Mercedes pulled away from the curb.

"Rachel, I love you as much as I can love a hobbit, but if you ruin my dress with anymore baby goo one of those babies best be named after Mama Santana." The Latina groused as the filled car turned a corner.

"Sanny, be nice..." Brittany elbowed her fiancee.

" I am, I coulda said I would kill her, but seeing as she's about to give birth I softened up, jeeez..."

"Shut-up." Quinn commanded sternly brushing the brunette's hair. The diva for her part just kept reciting how sorry she was for everything under the sun. "Stop apologizing Rae, you didn't do anything wrong, ok? Move this boat, Cedes!"

"Moving as fast as I can, Q," The black woman grunted, "hospital's coming up..."

Mercedes eased the car into the emergency drop-off and the five other passengers maneuvered themselves from the vehicle. Puck adjusted Rachel in his arms making sure that her head was properly supported and raced ahead only beaten to the nurses' station by a frantic Quinn.

"We need Doctor Farley! Tell him Rachel Berry's triplets are coming, now!"

"Ma'am, you're going to need to calm down..."

"And you're going to need to start paging my girlfriend's doctor before I jump across this desk and do it my damn self."

The head nurse's blue eyes narrowed to slits before she grabbed the phone in front of her an put in a page for Dr. Farley.

"Now, if you're quite finished with your histrionics, Ma'am, there's paperwork to fill out." The nurse shoved the clipboard of papers across the counter at Quinn who growled an scooped the board and began to fill in the information.

"Quinn? Rachel?" She looked up from the questions at the sound of Dr. Farley's voice.

"Her water broke and she's having contractions..." Quinn raced out not bothering with a proper greeting for the man.

"Ok..ok...everything's going to be fine..." He nodded at two orderlies and they brought over a bed on rollers. Puck lay the grimacing diva on the gurney and the orderlies turned to bed so her feet faced away from the group.

"I want Quinn...Please...I want Quinn..." Rachel groaned reaching a hand out.

"Of course, Rachel..." Quinn replied and Dr. Farley nodded.

"We'll get you into some scrubs, ok."

Quinn nodded again and let Rachel grip her hand tightly. She looked back at their friends before they pushed through the double doors and spoke: "Someone call Artie."

* * *

><p>An hour later Quinn stood beside Rachel's bed wincing at the amount of pressure the small diva was putting on her hand. They had decked her out in a pair of blue scrubs and a cap for her hair. She'd aided Rachel in removing her outfit though it was pretty much ruined from when her water broke. The room was mostly empty except for the machines they had hooked up and the occasional scurrying nurse. Doctor Farley had said that Rachel wasn't ready yet, they still had time, but the way Quinn's hand was throbbing she wished it was already over.<p>

"Okay, how's Mommy?" Dr. Farley's overly cheery voice came from the doorway as he strolled inside.

"I wanna go home..." Rachel cried.

"Not yet, first we gotta meet you're babies...don't you want to meet you're babies?"

"Mhmmm..." The brunette sniffled and nodded.

"And how's the girlfriend, nervous?"

"My hand's numb..." Quinn grimaced.

The doctor smiled and checked the chart at the end of the bed. He watched Rachel's face and the hand she had gripping Quinn's and looked at his watch.

"It's time..." His smile widened and he walked to the doorway ducking out before reappearing with two nurses.

They hiked Rachel's legs up draping a cloth between her upper and lower body. Quinn used her good hand to caress the pregnant woman's face. Because of risk factors concerning multiples' birth they were conducting a caesarian section. Rachel felt mostly numb below her breast. She took a shaky breath as Dr. Farley ducked his head. Quinn could hardly watch. She could see inside Rachel and it made her worry that the other woman wouldn't be okay, that the babies wouldn't be okay. She worried her lower lip between her teeth and watched in awe as the doctor pulled out the first of the triplets.

"First one's a boy..." He called out before he was cut off by the piercing scream coming from the newborn's mouth "...nice set of pipes...must get it from Mom..."

"Liam..." Rachel breathed out with a weary smile. Dr. Farley handed the child to a nurse who snipped the umbilical cord and then rushed the still whimpering boy from the room.

"Alright one down, two more to go...you're doing perfectly babe..." Quinn cooed as Dr. Farley ducked down again working inside the small diva's lower body.

"Tricky...tricky...tricky..." The doctor mumbled shifting Rachel's innards to get a hand on the second child.

"Just a second...yep...gotcha...second baby, another boy not quite as voracious of a scream, but still letting us know he's here." He straightened with the second boy in his hand. He was smaller than the first boy, but unlike the first he had a tuft of brown hair down the middle of his head reminding Quinn of high school Puckerman's mohawk. She cringed slightly at the implication.

"Abram..." Rachel's eyes fluttered. Again the baby's cord was snipped and the second nurse hurried him away.

"Just one more okay..." Quinn lit a kiss on Rachel's forehead.

"Okay...okay...Quinn...I wanted to apolo-"

"Shhhh...after." Quinn whispered.

"Alright, we're almost done." The doctor leaned over concern clear on his face. He stood and walked briskly towards the door motioning for someone.

"What's going on? What's the problem...?" Rachel's voice was edged with hysteria.

"Calm down, Rachel...I need you to remain calm. Everything's going to be fine. Your third baby seems to be wrapped in the cord and blocked by part of your intestine. I just need a hand..." Dr. Farley said soothingly as he and the other doctor began to work to get the third child out.

"You heard him, Rae...everything is going to be okay..."

"Alright...Alright...here...cut there...careful, careful..." The second doctor whispered.

"Mhm." Quinn felt Rachel's nails dig into her wrist and she was sure that by the time this was over she would be bleeding.

"Easy, Carl, easy..." Dr. Farley mumbled.

"Looks like we got a girl, tiny little thing..." The other doctor rose with the last baby in his hands. She was significantly smaller than both the boys and Quinn worried.

"Is she ok?" Quinn asked eyebrows knitting as the girl's whimpers became louder.

"She's small but she seems like a fighter...she'll probably have to be incubated longer than the other two. Don't worry."

"Quincy..." Rachel mumbled.

"What?"

"I want to name her Quincy...after you..Quinn and Lucy...I've..I've thought about it for a whil-" Rachel's eyelids drooped lower.

"Rachel? Rae? Doc, what's happening?" Quinn asked frantic as Rachel grip went slack.

"Rachel?" He looked concerned at the new mother and then the beeping from the heart monitor became louder and more hectic.

"Quinn, you're going to have to leave...Quinn!" He yelled snapping the blonde out of her stupor.

"But Rachel...Rachel!" She screeched.

"Quinn, get a hold of yourself. Rachel needs you to remain calm." The doctor shook her byy the shoulder then turned her and pushed her out of the room as an army of nurses rushed in.

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><p>Duh duh dum...<p>

Don't worry I would never do anything too drastic...

Ink


	21. Making Rounds

Sorry I left you guys off there...

I don't own Glee...

Enjoy!

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><p>Quinn placed her bandaged hand on the nursery window and looked at the three incubating babies. Rachel's babies. Rachel's babies that she hadn't gotten a good chance to even see. The diva had lost too much blood and her body had gone into shock after the delivery, but Dr. Farley said she was going to be alright. They'd all given blood. Even Santana who was afraid of needles, she'd whined a little, but even she sucked it up for Rachel.<p>

"Hey Q, thought I'd find you here." Artie smiled rolling up to her.

"Yeah...they're so tiny..." She glanced at him then back at the babies.

"Preemies..." He shrugged turning his chair to share the view.

"She's gonna be all right, yeah?" She asked tears stinging her eyes

"Of course she is Quinn, you know Rachel she's a tough one." He replied taking her other hand in his and giving it a light squeeze.

"How's it feel to be a daddy?" She asked after a moment.

"Doesn't feel like anything. I'm not a daddy...I'm a sperm donor. I'm Uncle Artie and it feels awesome to be Uncle Artie. Rachel's going to be a great Mom though, she's wanted this for a while...maybe not in such an abundance," he chuckled, " but she's going to be a great Mom and these are going to be some awesomely talented kids."

"I'm scared..." Quinn whispered frowning.

"Hey," He squeezed her hand again, "it's okay to be scared, Quinn, but you can't like let the fear cripple you. You know despite the whole break-up debacle, Rachel adores you, she wants to be with you. You, just stick with her, okay?" He squeezed her hand a third time then rolled off leaving her alone with the babies.

"Ms. Fabray?" A lanky male nurse questioned from the nursery door.

"Yes..?" She arched an eyebrow at the man.

"Dr. Farley said that you were allowed, I mean if you want to come...with the babies..." He stammered and Quinn smiled congenially.

"I can? I'd really like that." Her smile widened and she slid pass him.

"Just...uh...stick your hands in here and you can touch them." He motioned to the gloved openings for the incubators.

"When...when can they get out of these?" She touched the edge of Abram's incubator.

"Well, the boys are almost 5 pounds each so they'll probably be moved to radiant warmers tonight. The girl though has only weighed in at 3 1/2 pounds so she's going to need some more time in there until she gains some weight. I do think Dr. Farley wants to move them into a large room with the Mother, he thinks them being together will help everyone."

"Yeah..." She responded offhandedly placing her hands into the gloves of Liam's incubator and touching his chest gently.

"I'll...uh...I'll give you sometime alone, gotta go check an see when and if we're moving them..." The nurse trailed off stepping from the room.

"Hey guys, I'm uh...I'm Quinn and you guys are already really special to me. You're special to a lot of people. They're waiting to really get to meet you. Your mom is waiting to meet you. She loves you guys, okay? So, you gotta get stronger for her." She turned and put her hands into Abram's gloves and brushed his tuft of hair then walked the short distance to Quincy's incubator and looked at the tiny girl. She felt unshed tears sting her eyes and she wiped them away. She had to be strong, for the babies, for Rachel.

"Heya, Quincy...guess I'm big Q and you'll be little Q. You can't let these two boys show you up, ok? Us Qs are not weaklings. You might be small now, but you're going to get bigger, you have to get bigger, your mom went through a lot so you could be here today, so you pay her back by being ok, alright?" She brushed the knuckles of the little girl's fisted fingers and smiled when the hand flexed in response.

"Okay, I'm going to go sit with your Mom and I'm going to make this right when she wakes up. I'm going to be there for all of you." Quinn gave a curt head nod of determination before leaving the room.

* * *

><p>When Quinn arrived at Rachel's new room she walked in on Santana and Brittany talking to the sleeping woman.<p>

"So, yeah all that shit I said about you ruining my dress and calling you hobbit and what not? I didn't mean it. You're like really good for Q and your babies? Gorgeous. So, like you got take care of yourself, cuz we'd all be devastated if something bad happened to you, ok? So like no more drama, ok?" Santana sniffled slightly and Quinn smirked at the badass' sweet side.

"Awww, Santana, who knew you had a heart?" She chuckled moving more into the room.

"Shut-up Q, I care about the midget, ok." The Latina crossed her arms and smiled when Brittany placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Ya, I know you do..."

"We all do, Q...that's why Sanny was really brave and let the doctor take some blood without kicking him like she threatened." Brittany smiled.

"How are the Minis?" Santana asked with a faint blush at her fiancee's words.

"They look good...you two should go see 'em before they move them up here..." She replied wanting to spend some time alone with Rachel even if she was technically unconscious.

"Oooo babies, San! We should have a couple too!" Brittany enthused jumping up and pulling on Santana's arm until they were outside the room with Santana glaring back at her.

"Hey Hun, I give it six months before those two are pregnant. Brittany has a way of getting whatever she wants from Santana." Quinn chuckled and took the seat closest to Rachel's prone form.

"So, the Doc said that you're ok, your body just needs to recharge it's batteries, but I'd have more faith in his word if you would just open your beautiful brown eyes. I know we were in a bad place before and I can't promise that it's going to be great, because it's going to be hard, but I don't want anyone else, Rach...You're it for me. Uh..." She shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out the little green figurine she'd been carrying with her for years. "Do you remember this? I have had this stupid leprechaun since the day I met you," She chuckled, "You said that this thing would be lucky for someone else and it has been nothing, but lucky for me. I wasn't ready for you then, I was too scared, too unsure...but I'm not scared anymore Rachel. You are the only thing I am completely sure about. Wake-up so we can do this, right." She kissed Rachel softly on the forehead and then laid her head down on the blanket staring up at the peaceful tan face.

* * *

><p>Quinn opened her eyes to find big brown eyes staring back at her. Rachel's fingers were combing through her hair. She blinked and smiled up at the diva.<p>

"Hey..." Rachel whispered with a small smile.

"Hey..." She grinned back nuzzling into her side.

"You'll hurt yourself sleeping like that." Rachel's voice came out gravelly.

"I'm alright...how are you?"

"Sore...How are the babies?"

"Incubating. Quincy's a little underweight, but she's a fighter like Mom. They should be in here in a few."

"Mmmm."

"Hey, Mommy's awake? Good, cuz these kids are starving and Mommy's milk is best." The nurse from neonatal walked in carrying the two boys.

"These two are big enough to breast feed naturally, ok? So feed one off one nipple then the other from the opposite one." He smiled helping the brunette get settled with the boys, then left the room.

"Hey Liam, Abram..." Rachel smiled wide, but tiredly. Her face was aglow as she watched her sons latch on and feed.

"Beautiful..." Quinn whispered, staring in wonderment.

"What about Quincy?" She asked looking up from her sons.

"She's underweight, Rae..." Quinn started only to be interrupted when the nurse came back in rolling Quincy's incubator.

"Let's get these two guys tucked into to their warmers and then we'll see if we can get this little one to feed, eh?" The nurse smiled hoisting both boys away and settling them in warmers that neither woman had noticed were in the room.

"Okay, Mommy, we're gonna have to coax the little one to feed alright, got to monitor her carefully. I'll be back in a few to put her back in the incubator." He aided Rachel with getting the smaller child attached and showed her how to coax some milk out before leaving them alone again.

"You know if he wasn't a nurse I'd be slightly enraged by his free handling of the girls." Quinn grumbled frowning.

"Aw, are you jealous, Quinn?" Rachel giggled.

"So..." The blonde pouted.

"Quinn...?" Rachel looked down at Quincy, seriousness resonating in the tone of her voice.

"I meant everything I said before Rachel...I know we're a mess, but I want to be with you...all of you..."

"I know. I-I got your stroller...it was sweet. I also heard you before...I can't believe you kept that Leprechaun all this time..." Rachel giggled.

Quinn shrugged and touched Quincy's head lightly. "My good luck charm."

"Alrighty, Mama, let's put the little one back and I'll wheel her closer so you can reach out and touch her should she get fussy. Either me or another of the nurses will be back in a couple of hours for another feeding, okay?" He asked settling the sleeping little girl in and scooting the incubator close enough for Rachel to place her hand into the gloves.

"Ms. Fabray we can get you a cot if you'd like, I have a feeling asking you to leave wouldn't go over very well."

"Sure, that'd be nice." Quinn yawned.

"Okay, may take a minute, but I'll be back." The nurse smiled again and left.

"You look exhausted...probably like I feel." Rachel yawned as well, threading her fingers in Quinn's hair.

"Yeah, you all had me worried..."Quinn's lips lifted slightly in a lopsided grin.

"Come on up here and lay down...they got me in the double-wide edition of hospital beds and who knows how long it's going to take them to find that cot."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhmm...come on." Rachel moved over and Quinn gently climbed into the hospital bed careful not to jostle the still recovering mother.

"I love you, Rachel...you know that right?" Quinn laid an arm around her torso gently.

"I love you too..." Rachel said through a long yawn squeezing the hand that was resting on her stomach.

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><p>Yay! Hope ya like...<p>

Ink


	22. 5 Months Later

So sorry for the wait...

I don't own Glee

I do own errors

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>5 Months Later<p>

Quinn walked/rocked the tiny baby who was staring up at her with big expressive brown eyes and grinned widely. "See Rae, two babies would have been the perfect number, then you wouldn't feel as apprehensive about each of us carrying one in the front harness and putting the last in a stroller." She chuckled. They just gotten in from taking a refreshing walk through Central Park and just getting out the door had been a struggle for them.

"I just feel like it shows some type of favoritism..." Rachel fretted feeding both Liam and Abram their bottles in either arm.

"Babe, they're too young to point fingers and cry favorite." Quinn laughed again. They'd been having the same discussion since she'd brought the babies home. Rachel swore they all needed to be treated absolutely the same, she was afraid that one or more of them would eventually begin to have a complex.

"I know...I'm being crazy aren't I...I am, I'm being completely ridiculous.." Rachel huffed pouting her movements jostling the boys who started to whimper.

"Mommy's crazy, Lil Q, she's gone off the deep end." Quinn cooed to the baby she held.

"Don't tell her I'm crazy, what if she begins to internalize that and believe it's true!"

"Rae, they're 5 months, that's less than half a year they're not going to remember or internalize any of this, ever." Quinn groaned frowning slightly.

Rachel sighed as she maneuvered Liam to burp and after he was done did the same for Abram. She placed Liam horizontal across her lap watching his brown eyes droop close a content milk bubble on the corner of his mouth. Abram was usually more difficult to get to sleep. He was so curious about everything that was going on. He turned his head on her shoulder to peer at her with big blue eyes, Artie's eyes, and gurgled happily.

"What's so exciting that you don't want to nap like you're brother?" Rachel cooed quiet so as not to wake the baby in her lap.

"He's not the only one wide awake, Baby, Lil Q is not having any of this sleep business. Maybe they know that tomorrow is a big day."

"Well if they don't sleep today they're definitely going to either be extremely cranky tomorrow or they're going to sleep through the wedding."

"Again, as if they would remember it anyways." Quinn shrugged.

"They might, especially since Quincy is suppose to be the flower girl…imagine the photo op." Rachel grinned widely met with gurgling from both awake babies.

"Hey Rae, Hey Q." Rinoa called pushing open the door to Rachel and Artie's apartment with Arite following her.

"Shhhhhh…I just got Liam down." Rachel replied on a harsh whisper.

"I swear that kid is not yours, he's _always_ asleep." Rinoa rolled her eyes.

"Hush, he's a baby he's due for his rest, he's growing."

"Yeah, so are the other two, but jeez he's always asleep."

She crouched down next to the sleeping boy. " Wake-up Liiiiiiiiaaaaam, come on there's a whole wide world out here…join it."

"Artie, get you're girlfriend because if she wakes up my son, I swear to god…." Rachel groaned using the tip of her foot to kick the woman lightly.

"Come on Rin, let's go watch some T.V." Artie motioned, the singer flopped in his lap and he rolled them back to his bedroom.

Rachel turned her head and watched them until they disappeared behind his closed door. She turned back to look at her girlfriend rocking her daughter and then down at her sleeping son.

"Quinn," She bit her lip worriedly, "I've been thinking about moving out, me and the babies that is…I um…I just feel like Artie and Rin need their own space and we're always here…you're always here and I just—I just feel like it's too crowded…"

"Okay?" Quinn turned hazel eyes towards her and studied her intensely.

"Yeah, I just um…I don't know how to break it to him that I want to move out, I mean it feels like we've always lived together." The brunette shrugged and Abram burped again loudly.

"My son is a pig." Quinn giggled loudly and Rachel cracked a grin.

"He does sort of look like Puckerman, so maybe there's something you should be telling me?" Quinn retorted not able to keep a straight face before busting out in a chortle.

"Shut-up!" She pouted then looked into Abram's eyes. "It's okay baby, no matter what the blonde says you are not Noah Puckerman's illegitimate son and I'm sure that if you could speak you would have said excuse me because you're my son and have impeccable manners."

"_Impeccable_." Quinn whisper conspiratorially to Quincy. 

* * *

><p>"And do you, Santana Maricel Lopez take Brittany Susan Pierce to be you're lawfully wedded wife to have and hold til death do you part?"<p>

"Always." Santana smiled widely eyes shining.

"And do you, Brittany Susan Pierce take Santana Maricel Lopes to be you're lawfully wedded wife to have and hold to death do you part?"

"And even after." Brittany pecked Santana on the cheek and the Latina blushed furiously.

"Well," The minister clear her throat, "…by the power vested in me by the State of New York I now pronounce you wife and wife." A loud cheer echoed throughout the The Lighthouse.

"It's about time, you made and honest woman out of her, Britts!" Noah Puckerman yelled and his wife brought a palm down swiftly on his upper arm.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…receptions in the next room bit-excuse me pastor-ches!" She scooped up her wife's hand and they made their way back down the aisle followed by their friends and family.

"Go on Quinn, don't you have a best woman toast to make?" Rachel looked up at the blonde who had stepped away from the procession to hover over her. The brunette had begun rocking a fussy Liam who was not at all in the mood to have a loud wedding interrupt his designated nap time.

"I do, but they can wait…" The blonde grinned rocking gently to keep the little girl snuggled and strapped to her chest asleep while her brother wailed "…besides there's something I want to talk to you about…"

"Hmmm?" Rachel questioned fishing in the diaper bag for Liam's pacifier.

"Well, um…I know that I said we'd go slow and well, if you say no I'd understand, but I want you to know I really thought about this and it's important to me that you know it's what I want…even if it's not right now…."

"Mhmmm…" Rachel half listened face drawing deeper into the bag.

"So, Rachel Berry…?" Quinn paused and struggled to get down on one knee in front of the mother and pulled out a velvet jewelry box. She stretched her hand out palm open and Rachel finally looked up a small hand placed over her mouth. Quinn slowly opened the box to reveal a silver key hooked onto a key chain with the old green leprechaun. "So, Rae, will you all move in to my house with me?"

"What about Santana and Brittany?"

"Not the apartment, let the newlyweds have it, I mean my house…our house if you let it be….if you want it to be. I want to share it with you, with the babies and you. You wanted to move out and I've been thinking about asking you to move in with me for a few weeks now…so, uh…not to rush your decision or you know, but can you say something?" Rachel squealed and pressed a kiss to Quinn's forehead careful of the two babies between them. 

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><p>Epilogue to come...<p>

Whatcha think?

Ink


	23. Faberry Ever After

Yay!

Welcome to the end of this fic. Thanks everyone who read and Extra Thanks to Everyone who Reviewed!

Extra Thanks to RiverKirby who prompted this.

Errors are Mine

Enjoy!

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><p>Epilogue<p>

About 4 Years Later…

"Mammmaaaaaaaa! Maaaaaaammmmmmmaaaaaaa! Mama!" Rachel sighed as she heard Liam screaming her name from the bottom of the stairs. She had asked Noah to help her eldest son get into his suit but knowing the man she just knew that he had failed miserably.

"No worries, Jewbabe, you stay up there I've got this under control!" Her friend called followed by heavy footsteps running around the downstairs area.

In the last few years Liam had grown from being the perpetually sleepy baby to a rambunctious and inquisitive toddler. Although, Quincy had been the first to say a word, Liam now spoke more than his siblings and had taken to speaking for the all of them. He was the self appointed leader. He was also the one that was always getting into this or that. That had been precisely why she'd asked Noah to help get the boy dressed, she figured that he was a veteran at the whole parenthood thing, apparently her son was even too wily for him.

She stepped out of the bedroom careful of her dress and leaned around the corner. "Liam Joel Berry don't make me come down these stairs! Be good for Uncle Noah, please…" She called down trying to maintain the authority in her voice and also trying not to laugh.

She heard the footsteps stop then a small voice called back, "Okay Mama, I be good."

She shook her head at her son's antics and made her way back to the bedroom where Kurt and Mercedes were waiting to put the finishing touches on her hair and make-up.

"Ooooo child, that one is a handful." Mercedes laughed as the brunette retook her seat.

"I know. Here I was thinking that Abram was going to be a little hellion because he was always so inquisitive and well let's face it's he had a Mohawk for the first year of his life, but he turns out to be the sweetest, most curious, quiet boy and here's Liam always running and banging on things and breaking everything…" Rachel chuckled.

"And then there's Quincy, who doesn't like anyone…" Kurt mumbled turning her face so that he could apply the mascara.

"Don't say that, she's just very weary of strangers, it's a good quality I don't ever have to worry about her wandering off. Besides, she adores Quinn."

"Apparently she's a Berry woman's kryptonite." Mercedes chuckled releasing Rachel's soft curls from the rollers that had been in her hair.

Rachel rolled her eyes again but couldn't help the soft smile that lit up her face thinking about Quinn. She couldn't deny that it had been a long four years and sometimes it hadn't been easy, but they'd made it.

"Mama?" She turned towards the door to find Abram completely dressed in his white tux. The front of his hair was gelled up and she could tell that he'd been good and not touched his hair or anything to mess up his suit. What she really wanted to know though was where Artie and Rinoa were, they were the ones assigned to him.

"Hey honey, come here. How'd you get up here and away from Uncle Artie and Aunt Ri?" She opened her arms and allowed her middle child to climb up into her lap despite the tsking from Kurt and the complaining about a wrinkled gown.

"I climbed…" He mumbled around the fingers in his mouth.

"Abram, I thought we talked about not climbing over the gates, you could get hurt and then Mommy and I would be really sad."

"Not want Mama sad. Sowwy…." His brows dropped in concentration and she could help but place a light kiss on his cheek.

"Why'd you run from you're Uncle anyways?"

"Not run, jus' climbed…wanna see Mama…." He stared up at her with big eyes and she couldn't bring herself to be upset that he'd once again climbed over the safety gate and up the stairs.

"I wanted to see you too baby, how'd you know?"

The little boy shrugged and snuggled more firmly into her lap.

"Beautiful…." Rachel turned her head slightly to find Quinn leaning on the door-frame Quincy gripping onto her hand.

"Quinn Fabray! Get out! It's bad luck!" Kurt squealed making shooing motions, but as he stepped towards the blonde the smallest brunette in the house stepped between them and then stomped harshly on his foot.

"Mother-" He began on to be hushed by a sharp "Language!" from both Rachel and Quinn.

"She scuffed my shoe!" He huffed frowning at Quincy who stood with her little arms cross a Berry pout placed firmly on her lips.

"Come on Kurt, let's take a walk, we've already accomplished our goal here anyways, if they want to bring bad luck to their union it's out of our hands." Mercedes shrugged and ushered her best friend from the room.

"Quincy," Rachel began turning her attention to her daughter, "you can't go around stepping on people's shoes, especially not your Uncle Kurt you know how he feels about his wardrobe."

She turned her attention towards Quinn who was struggling to keep in her laughter. "Don't you dare laugh Quinn; she has to realize that she can't do that."

"He was gonna make Mommy leave…" Quincy's lower lip jutted out further and quivered.

"Aww, Lil Q, there's nothing on earth that's going to make me leave," Quinn scooped up the tiny brunette who was near tears at being reprimanded, "but Mama's right you can't beat up on Uncle Kurt, okay?"

The little girl nodded slowly her head tucked into Quinn's neck. Quincy brought her thumb up to her mouth and began to suck quietly consoling herself.

"Is Abram asleep?" Quinn queried stepping more into the room.

Rachel glanced down at the boy and nodded over his head. "I don't think any of them are going to make it to the ceremony, baby."

"They're probably to young to know what's going on anyways." Quinn shrugged feeling Quincy's breathe even out on her neck.

"You always say that." Rachel grinned shaking her head.

"That's because you're always worried about their memories." Quinn smirked

"I just…this is the day that our family becomes completely a family…"

"That's not true. Even if today never happened we'd still be a family we've been a family since the moment they were born and some paper saying it's true doesn't change things at all."

"Still, we've got guest waiting downstairs, so are you ready to officially become the Berry-Fabrays?" Rachel smiled brightly rising while cradling Abram in her arms.

Quinn leaned in and kissed her soon to be wife lightly. "I still think we should have just made something up…combined them or something…Faberry."

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><p>So?<p>

I really enjoyed writing this. Onwards...

Ink


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